Convention stumbles are just a day at the office for Donald Trump, delegates insist

As the Republican National Convention hits the halfway point, Donald Trump is officially the party’s nominee for president.

GOP delegates from Kansas and Missouri happily cast their ballots for Trump on Tuesday, and they’ve insisted for days they’re now ready to take his case to voters. He may not have been our first choice, they say, but he won fair and square.

Many also say privately they’re still mystified by the businessman’s unorthodox tactics and strategy. Trump’s on-the-fly approach to presidential politics continues. Even at the party’s national convention, he’s spent the first two days losing rather than gaining momentum.

Trump is either a disorganized mess, Republicans say, or the most brilliant politician of the past 50 years — smart in ways no one understands, even now.

“The Trump campaign is unlike any other campaign that I’ve ever seen,” U.S. Rep. Jason Smith of Missouri said. “It’s not like any other convention I’ve been to. But what Trump has proven is that he doesn’t have to be like everyone else to win.”

One prominent Missouri Republican theorized Tuesday that Trump actually approved Melania Trump’s use of lifted language for her speech to the convention Monday night. For Trump, there’s no such thing as bad publicity, the Republican said. Hey, everyone’s talking about her, aren’t they?

Few other Republicans would go that far. Actually approving plagiarized material in his wife’s remarks would seem a bridge too far for any candidate, even Donald Trump, who was said to be furious over the controversy.

But the mere existence of such a conspiracy theory suggests Trump’s political skills remain a subject of profound wonder for regular politicians across the nation.

We’ve all misjudged Trump for months, GOP delegates said this week. Missteps and mistakes that might have doomed mortal politicians might actually be a part of Trump’s grand design.

In just the last week, Trump introduced running mate Mike Pence in a speech widely criticized as rambling and unfocused. A never-Trump floor rebellion Monday demonstrated a continuing split in the party, prompting headlines about “chaos” and “darkness” in Cleveland.

Speeches ran long Monday night, forcing Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa — a rising star in the party — to speak in a half-empty arena well after many viewers had gone to bed. Proper scheduling, the first task of any convention, fell short.

“Obviously, it got a little bit later than what we wanted,” said former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson, who spoke to Missouri delegates Tuesday morning.

Yet none of it appears to have hurt Trump’s standing with Republicans.

The daylong furor over Melania’s remarks — the Trump campaign fiercely resisted allegations that part of the speech was taken from Michelle Obama’s address eight years ago — served as another distraction in a campaign that has faced distraction after distraction for months.

“I don’t think it was (plagiarism),” said Gordon Kinne, a delegate from Springfield. “I think you could go back and see about any presidential speech. … When you have a narrow subject, there are only so many adjectives.”

Kansas Republicans said the media were behind the furor.

“This is virtually nothing to me,” said Mike Howerter, a Ted Cruz delegate from Parsons.

The controversy isn’t expected to dent Melania Trump’s standing with Republicans. Spouses and children of presidential candidates can cause temporary heartburn for candidates, but it rarely lasts (Bill Clinton is the exception that proves the rule).

Some Republicans said the unforced error does reflect the fundamental problem with the Trump campaign: It’s overstressed and understaffed. Missouri Republicans have groused for days that they can’t get yard signs, bumper stickers or any on-the-ground help at all.

Others, though, waved away the complaints as so much chaff.

Gaffes, a thin organization, poor fundraising, distractions and mixed messages. Any one problem would damage a normal campaign. For Donald Trump, they’re just another day at the office.

“Donald Trump is going to do what got him here in the first place,” said Jennifer Finch, a Missouri convention delegate. “He’s going to speak his mind. He’s going to be politically incorrect. And people are going to love it.”

This story was originally published July 19, 2016 at 6:32 PM with the headline "Convention stumbles are just a day at the office for Donald Trump, delegates insist."