I understand the adage that there is no such thing as bad publicity, but he's generated very strong negative feelings in the process.

He doesn't care about the issues, he cares about the psychology of the voters. And make no mistake, Hillary doesn't care about the issues either, she's just not as good at the psychopathy.

Even Trump's most trusted advisers didn't expect him to fare
this well. Almost a year ago, recruited for my public relations
and public policy expertise, I sat in Trump Tower being told
that the goal was to get The Donald to poll in double digits
and come in second in delegate count. That was it.

The Trump camp would have been satisfied to see him polling at
12% and taking second place to a candidate who might hold
50%. His candidacy was a protest candidacy.

It pains me to say, but he is the presidential equivalent of
Sanjaya onAmerican Idol. President Trump would be
President Sanjaya in terms of legitimacy and authority.

And I am now taking full responsibility for helping create this
monster — and reaching out directly to those voters who,
like me, wanted Trump to be the real deal.

My support for Trump began probably like yours did. Similar
to so many other Americans, I was tired of the rhetoric in
Washington. Negativity and stubbornness were at an all-time
high, and the presidential prospects didn't look promising.

In 2015, I fell in love with the idea of the protest
candidate who was not bought by corporations. A man who
sat in a Manhattan high-rise he had built, making waves as
a straight talker with a business background, full of successes
and failures, who wanted America to return to greatness.
I was sold.

Last summer, I signed on as the Communications Director
of the Make America Great Again Super PAC. It was still
early in the Trump campaign, and we hit the ground running.
His biggest competitor had more than $100 million in a
Super PAC. The Jeb Bush deep pockets looked to be the
biggest obstacle we faced. We seemed to be up against a
steep challenge, especially since a big part of the appeal
of a Trump candidacy was not being influenced by PAC money.

After the first debate, I was more anxious than ever to
support Trump. The exchange with Megyn Kelly was like manna
from heaven for a communications director. She appeared
like yet another reporter trying to kick out the guest
who wasn’t invited to the party. At the time, I felt
excited for the change to the debate he could bring. I
began realizing the man really resonates with the masses
and would bring people to the process who had never
participated before.

That was inspiring to me.

It wasn't long before every day I awoke to a buzzing
phone and a shaking head because Trump had said something
politically incorrect the night before. I have been
around politics long enough to know that the other side
will pounce on any and every opportunity to smear a candidate.

But something surprising and absolutely unexpected happened.
Every other candidate mis-estimated the anger and outrage
of the “silent majority” of Americans who are not a part
of the liberal elite. So with each statement came a jump
in the polls. Just when I thought we were finished,
The Donald gained more popularity.

I don't think even Trump thought he would get this far.
And I don’t even know that he wanted to, which is perhaps
the scariest prospect of all.

He certainly was never prepared or equipped to go all the
way to the White House, but his ego has now taken over the
driver's seat, and nothing else matters. The Donald does
not fail. The Donald does not have any weakness.
The Donald is his own biggest enemy.

A devastating terrorist attack in Pakistan targeting
Christians occurred on Easter Sunday, and Trump’s response
was to tweet, "Another radical Islamic attack, this
time in Pakistan, targeting Christian women & children.
At least 67 dead, 400 injured. I alone can solve."

Ignoring the fact that at the time Trump tweeted this
(time-stamped 4:37 p.m.) the latest news reports had
already placed the number differently at 70 dead, 300
injured, take a moment to appreciate the ridiculous,
cartoonish, almost childish arrogance of saying that
he alone can solve. Does Trump think that he is making
a cameo on Wrestlemania (yes, one of his actual credits)?

This is not how foreign policy works. For anyone. Ever.
Superhero powers where "I alone can solve" problems are
not real. They do not exist for Batman, for Superman,
for Wrestlemania and definitely not for Donald Trump.

What was once Trump's desire to rank second place to
send a message to America and to increase his power as
a businessman has nightmarishly morphed into a charade
that is poised to do irreparable damage to this country
if we do not stop this campaign in its tracks.

I'll say it again: Trump never intended to be the candidate.
But his pride is too out of control to stop him now.
You can give Trump the biggest gift possible if you are a Trump supporter: stop supporting him.

He doesn't want the White House. He just wants to be able to
say that he could have run the White House. He’s achieved
that already and then some. If there is any question, take
it from someone who was recruited to help the candidate
succeed, and initially very much wanted him to do so.
The hard truth is: Trump only cares about Trump.

And if you are one of the disaffected voters — one of the
silent majority like me — who wanted a candidate who could
be your voice, I want to speak directly to you as one of his
biggest advocates and supporters.

He is not that voice. He is not your voice. He is only Trump's
voice. Trump is about Trump. Not one of his many wives.
Not one of his many "pieces of ass." He is, at heart, a self-preservationist.

In fact, many people are not aware of the Trump campaign's
internal slogan, but I will tell you. It is stolen from
a make-believe television presidency onThe West Wing where
Martin Sheen portrayed President Bartlet. The slogan on
the show amongst the idealistic group of Bartlet's staff
was “Let Bartlet Be Bartlet.”

Inside the Trump camp, the slogan became
"Let Trump Be Trump."It is a repurposed slogan that seemed
spot-on for the candidate. He is an intelligent, charismatic
man who is involved in every aspect of his organization and
would rather speak from the cuff than read briefing notes
and recite them. I, in fact, admire Trump for this.
But saying this qualifies him to be president is like
saying that Seth Rogen is suited to be president. Another
extraordinary improviser, not an extraordinary presidential
candidate.

Trump has undoubtedly lived up to the slogan, right down
to his main public-relations liaison. Rather than go for
a focus-group Washington insider, his communications
person had previously taken press calls for the
Trump Organization and directed them to the appropriate
Trump child. She joked that before joining the campaign
she thought "Common Core" was a class at Equinox.

The primary problem with this? What I've seen the longer
I've helped prop him up along with the millions who are
helping Trump is that we got the slogan wrong. A more
accurate internal slogan would read, "Let Trump Help Trump."

I don't dismiss any single Trump constituent, which is
why I believe it's important to let you know that the
candidate does.

I, too, think our country has gone off track in its values.
I, too, think that we need a dramatic change of course.
But I am, in my heart, a policy wonk and a believer
in coming to the table with necessary knowledge for leading
the free world.

The man does not know policy, nor does he have the humility
to admit what he does not know — the most frightening
position of all.

I remember watching the second Trump debate and thinking, 
After this, he is going to have to start hammering it home
on policy; the country needs substance to make an informed
decision.

I wished for it six months ago and am still waiting for it
today. He had an opportunity after the terror attacks
in Belgium and instead he used the opportunity to talk
about closing the borders and what a mess that country
had become. I was appalled that he offered no condolences
or words of support; he merely gave his "build a wall"
stump speech and talked about his greatness.

I felt sad for him at that moment.

And now, with the latest horrifying terror attack in Pakistan,
my sadness has turned into anger.

I consider myself a part of the silent majority that
led to Trump’s rise, which is why I want you to know
that I am with you — I wanted Trump to be real, too.

He is not.

He even says so himself. His misogyny? That's the character.

His presidential candidacy? That's a character, too.

The problem with characters is they are the stuff of
soap operas and sitcoms and reality competitions — not political legacies.

Trump made me believe. Until I woke up.

And he has no problem abusing your support the same way
he cheated hard-working men and women out of millions of
dollars, for which he is now being sued.

I came into this eager to support a savvy businessman
who received little outside funding. I loved Trump's
outsider status. But a year has now passed since I was f
irst approached to become part of Team Trump.

While the pundits pontificated about what type of PR
stunt Trump had up his billion-dollar sleeves, I met
with people who convinced me he was serious about
changing the political conversation. I wanted to raise
millions for him. I wanted to contribute to millions of votes.

And as part of that support, in October, I supported
the internal decision to close the Super PAC in order
to position him as the quintessential non-politician.
 I still supported him with great passion after that.
The decision to close the Super PAC was part of that
devotion to his message of outsider change.

But something was shifting.

Without intending to do so, I began to hear and
evaluate him more critically and skeptically as a
member of the voting public rather than a communications
person charged with protecting his positions.

I no longer felt that he was the leader the country was
looking for, and I found myself longing — aching, really —
for policy substance that went beyond building a wall and
making Mexico pay for it. What were once bold — although
controversial — statements now seemed to be attempts
to please the crowds, not direction to lead this country
to a better place. I began to realize his arrogance and
isolation had taken over and were now controlling his message.

And here's what he tapped into: the unprecedented,
unbelievable anger. Because we are all angry — and we all
have a right to be. But Trump is not our champion.
He would stab any one of his supporters in the back if it
earned him a cent more in his pocket.

Unfortunately, the more vitriolic Trump has become, the
more the people responded to him. That drove him to push
the boundaries further and further.

I also started seeing a trend of incompetence and deniability.

When there was a tweet that contained an error,
he would blame it on an intern; when there was a photo
containing a World War II Nazi Germany background,
he would blame it on an intern; when he answered questions
in an overtly controversial fashion, he would claim
that he did not properly hear the question. He refused
to take responsibility for his actions while frequently
demanding apologies from others.

Imagine Trump wronged you, even in the smallest possible way.
He would go to the grave denying he had ever done anything
wrong to you — ever.

Trump acts as if he's a fictional character. But like Hercules,
Donald Trump is a work of fiction.

No matter how many times he repeats it, Trump would not be
the "best" at being a president, being in shape, fighting
terrorism, selling steaks, and whatever other "best" claim
he has made in the last 15 minutes.

He would be the best at something, though. He is the best
at looking out for Donald Trump — at all costs.

Don’t let our country pay that price.