Ousting Trump highly unlikely
WASHINGTON — It would be nearly impossible for the Republican Party to force Donald Trump out of the presidential race.
Yet it could be done. If his poll numbers plunge significantly and party stalwarts urge him to step down, Republican officials could use some legal gymnastics to remove him from the ticket.
But the rules are written to make that difficult.
Then there’s the logistical challenge. Hundreds of thousands of people have voted, and ballots have been printed.
“It’s pretty impractical,” said Steve Scheffler, a member of the Republican National Committee from Iowa. “I don’t see how you can ever do it.”
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“He would have to get out of the race,” said Saul Anuzis, a former Michigan Republican chairman.
Trump, under fire since Friday when a tape surfaced showing him making lewd remarks about women, said he’s going nowhere.
The Republican Party has rules to fill a vacancy should a presidential or vice-presidential candidate become unable to run.
The deciders would be the 168-member Republican National Committee. Each state, territory and the District of Columbia has three members, including its chairman.
At least 16 committee members representing at least 16 states would have to request the special committee meeting, which is unlikely to be a problem. The committee would have to give its members five days notice for such a meeting. Then there are other timetables, said John Putnam, a Georgia-based rules expert.
“Technically, the RNC could alter those rules, but those rules require 10 days lead time for consideration of any rules-change proposal, leaving just 20 days for the RNC to coordinate a meeting,” he said.
Next, he said, they’d have to “hash out who a replacement is and sell that person to the American voters.”
If the RNC voted, committee members would get the same number of votes their states had at the party’s July convention. As at the convention, a delegation’s votes can be split among different candidates. A simple majority would win the nomination.