--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What is absolutely clear is that if Trump…" description: "\"What is absolutely clear is that if Trump is the nominee, Republicans cannot win. Maybe they can't win with Rubio or Cruz or Kasich. We don't know. But..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/261/bret-stephens-3977_clinton_what-is-absolutely-clear-is-that-if-trum_274426.jpg" --- # What is absolutely clear is that if Trump is the nominee… ![“What is absolutely clear is that if Trump is the nominee, Republicans cannot win. Maybe they can't win with Rubio or Cruz or Kasich. We don't know. But what is absolutely certain is that with Hillary Clinton locking up the Democratic base, she is going to win unless she has a strong contender who…” quote by Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/261/bret-stephens-3977_clinton_what-is-absolutely-clear-is-that-if-trum_274426.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/261/bret-stephens-3977_clinton_what-is-absolutely-clear-is-that-if-trum_274426.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/261/bret-stephens-3977_clinton_what-is-absolutely-clear-is-that-if-trum_274426.jpg) > “What is absolutely clear is that if Trump is the nominee, Republicans cannot win. Maybe they can't win with Rubio or Cruz or Kasich. We don't know. But what is absolutely certain is that with Hillary Clinton locking up the Democratic base, she is going to win unless she has a strong contender who is going to be able to pull - not only bring the entire Republican Party on the side, but win moderates. Donald Trump cannot do that.” [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author argues that Trump’s candidacy would doom Republican chances, while Hillary’s base support makes her likely winner unless a strong moderate challenger emerges. **In simple terms:** Trump would ruin GOP chances; Hillary likely wins without a strong moderate opponent. Key Takeaway Recognize the importance of broad coalition building. Themes politics election strategy party dynamics Mood cautious analytical Type political strategic When to use this quote - campaign planning - voter outreach - strategic messaging - party unity - moderate outreach Key Concepts electoral viability coalition building candidate appeal Questions to Reflect On - How can parties broaden appeal beyond core bases? - What strategies can moderate candidates use to attract diverse voters? A Different Perspective Trump’s appeal to certain voter blocs could still sway outcomes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/party/) [Republican](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/republican/) [Republican party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/republican-party/) [Republicans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/republicans/) [Winning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winning/) ## Related quotes > [If Donald Trump is our nominee, it could be the end of the Republican Party. It will split us and splinter us in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/if-donald-trump-is-our-nominee-it-could-be-the-end-of-the-republican/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [Let me just say the rules are what they are in the Republican Party. You have to have X-number of delegates in order to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/let-me-just-say-the-rules-are-what-they-are-in-the-republican-party/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [It's a consensus that Trump, as the nominee, guarantees the election of Hillary Clinton. I'll guarantee you there's not a single Donald Trump supporter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/it-s-a-consensus-that-trump-as-the-nominee-guarantees-the-election-of/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [ What's confusing about that, though, is you \[Marco Rubio\] say if he \[Donald Trump\] were the nominee, it would destroy the conservative movement. You're… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-s-dickerson/what-s-confusing-about-that-though-is-you-marco-rubio-say-if-he/) [John S. Dickerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-s-dickerson/) > [Let me put it very plainly, if we Republicans choose Donald Trump as our nominee, the prospects for a safe and prosperous future are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/let-me-put-it-very-plainly-if-we-republicans-choose-donald-trump-as/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [ Republicans are taking the possibility of \[Donald\] Trump as nominee seriously enough that the committee that oversees next year's Senate races laid out a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalia-mogahed/republicans-are-taking-the-possibility-of-donald-trump-as-nominee/) [Dalia Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalia-mogahed/) > [After months and months at the top of the polls, there is a real possibility that Donald Trump could be the nominee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mara-liasson/after-months-and-months-at-the-top-of-the-polls-there-is-a-real/) [Mara Liasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mara-liasson/) > [I think media think it's going to be good for ratings, and, two, because they know they have a lot of material to work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/i-think-media-think-it-s-going-to-be-good-for-ratings-and-two-because/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [“What confused me was that by this point, Trump was winning the race for the nomination. He had vanquished everyone but Ted Cruz, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megyn-kelly/what-confused-me-was-that-by-this-point-trump-was-winning-the-race/) [Megyn Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megyn-kelly/) > [How did the party that elected the first black U.S. senator, the party that elected the first 20 African American congressmen, become a party…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/how-did-the-party-that-elected-the-first-black-u-s-senator-the-party/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [After the Republican Party did everything that Colin Powell says it needs to do to grow, and nominated the very kind of candidate he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/after-the-republican-party-did-everything-that-colin-powell-says-it/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [If you want to join the Republican party, they have to let you in. There's nothing they can do about it. I mean, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/if-you-want-to-join-the-republican-party-they-have-to-let-you-in/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [Because many people remembered a time when the Republican Party was not so extreme, and hadn't full grasped how much it had changed, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-chait/because-many-people-remembered-a-time-when-the-republican-party-was/) [Jonathan Chait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-chait/) > [“Violence isn't a Democrat or Republican problem. It's an American problem, requiring an American solution.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashanne-stokes/violence-isn-t-a-democrat-or-republican-problem-it-s-an-american/) [DaShanne Stokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashanne-stokes/) > [the Republicans love to say that the Democratic Party is ruled by 'special interests.' But when pressed to name these 'special interests,' the usual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-ferraro/the-republicans-love-to-say-that-the-democratic-party-is-ruled-by/) [Geraldine Ferraro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-ferraro/) ## More by Bret Stephens > [The hater always suffers more than the object of his hatred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/the-hater-always-suffers-more-than-the-object-of-his-hatred/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [Listen carefully to the global warming alarmists, and the main theme that emerges is that what the developed world needs is a large dose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/listen-carefully-to-the-global-warming-alarmists-and-the-main-theme/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > ['Democratic socialism' is awful as a slogan and catastrophic as a policy. And 'social democracy' - a term that better fits the belief of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/democratic-socialism-is-awful-as-a-slogan-and-catastrophic-as-a/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [When you work at 'The Wall Street Journal,' the coins of the realm are truth and trust - the latter flowing exclusively from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/when-you-work-at-the-wall-street-journal-the-coins-of-the-realm-are/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [No adviser to a president is going to get his way all of the time, but at a minimum, that adviser should be able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/no-adviser-to-a-president-is-going-to-get-his-way-all-of-the-time-but/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [Every president inherits a mixed bag when he comes to office, and Obama's was hardly the worst.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/every-president-inherits-a-mixed-bag-when-he-comes-to-office-and/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [There was a time when the conservative movement was led by the likes of Bill Buckley and Irving Kristol and Bob Bartley, men of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/there-was-a-time-when-the-conservative-movement-was-led-by-the-likes/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [We elected Donald J. Trump to keep us jittery and entertained. He's delivered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/we-elected-donald-j-trump-to-keep-us-jittery-and-entertained-he-s/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [The United States survives so long as at least one of its major parties is politically and intellectually healthy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/the-united-states-survives-so-long-as-at-least-one-of-its-major/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [Censoriously asserting one's moral superiority and treating skeptics as imbeciles and deplorables wins few converts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/censoriously-asserting-one-s-moral-superiority-and-treating-skeptics/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [Everything Republicans once claimed to advocate - entitlement reform, free trade, standing up to dictators, encouraging the march of freedom around the world -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/everything-republicans-once-claimed-to-advocate-entitlement-reform/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [The best scientific evidence suggests temperatures are rising, and the best scientific evidence suggests man-made anthropogenic carbon emissions have some substantial thing to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/the-best-scientific-evidence-suggests-temperatures-are-rising-and-the/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [The intelligent defense of free speech should not rest on the notion that we must tolerate every form of speech, no matter how offensive.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/the-intelligent-defense-of-free-speech-should-not-rest-on-the-notion/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [When George W. Bush decided to save the American position in Iraq by going against the advice of all of his wise men, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/when-george-w-bush-decided-to-save-the-american-position-in-iraq-by/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [All societies make necessary moral distinctions between high crimes and misdemeanors, mortal and lesser sins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/all-societies-make-necessary-moral-distinctions-between-high-crimes/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) [Explore all 118 Bret Stephens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) ## More Clinton quotes > [There's more than 1700 emails out of the thirty three thousand Hillary Clinton emails that we've published, just about Libya. It's not that Libya…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/there-s-more-than-1700-emails-out-of-the-thirty-three-thousand/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [You can criticize Trump and his wealth all day long, but you can't say he hasn't worked. You can say that about the Clintons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/you-can-criticize-trump-and-his-wealth-all-day-long-but-you-can-t-say/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [ I guarantee you \[Hillary Clinton\] is smoking in humiliation over the idea that she needs to heal and that \[Donald\] Trump's the guy to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/i-guarantee-you-hillary-clinton-is-smoking-in-humiliation-over-the/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [How do you, on the one hand, not object to Hillary Clinton being elected, and then, on the other hand, tell people, "Elect me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/how-do-you-on-the-one-hand-not-object-to-hillary-clinton-being/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [All my life I've been involved with racial politics. I was a Freedom Rider in the South. I was the author of books on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hayden/all-my-life-i-ve-been-involved-with-racial-politics-i-was-a-freedom/) [Tom Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hayden/) > [We know from this book entitled... What is it? Surrendered? Succumbed? I can never remember the title perform. And we learn from this book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/we-know-from-this-book-entitled-what-is-it-surrendered-succumbed-i/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I didn't do anything for Russia. I've done nothing for Russia. Hillary Clinton gave them 20% of our uranium.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-didn-t-do-anything-for-russia-i-ve-done-nothing-for-russia-hillary/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [I absolutely trust Hillary Clinton to stand strong on trade agreements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrod-brown/i-absolutely-trust-hillary-clinton-to-stand-strong-on-trade-agreements/) [Sherrod Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrod-brown/) > [We're in more wars today under Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton than under George W. Bush or Ronald Reagan. Yet they tell you that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/we-re-in-more-wars-today-under-barack-obama-and-hillary-clinton-than/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Hillary Clinton is the least popular candidate for president ever except for Donald Trump.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pickering/hillary-clinton-is-the-least-popular-candidate-for-president-ever/) Charlie Pickering > [Hillary Clinton truly is sincere, but she has to connect more with the American people in terms of what she believes in and how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pelosi/hillary-clinton-truly-is-sincere-but-she-has-to-connect-more-with-the/) [Nancy Pelosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pelosi/) > [Why can't we have a voice? What's the difference between an athlete having millions or Donald Trump? Every time a politician talks, they talk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-abdul-rauf/why-can-t-we-have-a-voice-what-s-the-difference-between-an-athlete/) Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf > [Hillary Clinton's been around for 30 years. Why do these stories need to be told? It isn't all of this widely known?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/hillary-clinton-s-been-around-for-30-years-why-do-these-stories-need/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I happen to think that Hillary Clinton is a beacon of hope for younger girls, as was Barack Obama in other inspirational areas. We've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-meneses/i-happen-to-think-that-hillary-clinton-is-a-beacon-of-hope-for/) Alex Meneses > [If you're going to run for president as the anti-Clinton, you should know that Democrats and their media friends will do whatever it takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gigot/if-you-re-going-to-run-for-president-as-the-anti-clinton-you-should/) [Paul Gigot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gigot/) Browse all 2,917 Clinton quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What is absolutely clear is that if Trump is the nominee, Republicans cannot win. Maybe they can't win with Rubio or Cruz or Kasich. We don't know. But what is absolutely certain is that with Hillary Clinton locking up the Democratic base, she is going to win unless she has a strong contender who is going to be able to pull - not only bring the entire Republican Party on the side, but win moderates. 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