Via Mediaite, does this guy know which campaign he’s affiliated with? He’s talking here as if Cruz and Kasich agreeing not to compete with each other in a few states is some ominous character failing that suggests trouble ahead if one becomes president rather than a rudimentary strategic ploy that even a third-grader could understand. Meanwhile, the guy he’s endorsed consistently raises the prospect of riots if he doesn’t get his way while one of his top cronies wants to send angry Trump fans to delegates’ hotel rooms to hold “discussions” with them. Before that, Trump spent the entire campaign boasting about how clever he was in gaming a corrupt system by exploiting its corporate bankruptcy laws and lining the pockets of Democratic pols to buy influence. He’s also famously litigious, knowing that many defendants don’t have the resources to fight in court and will bend to his will to avoid a long battle whether they’re right on the merits or not. And here’s the thing: Trump’s fans love him for all of this. His ruthlessness, they’ll tell you, is what America needs in a president. The reason he wins, wins, wins, wins, wins is precisely because he’s willing to do whatever it takes to achieve his goals. Remember when he told a debate audience that he’d issue illegal orders to the military and they’d surely obey? That doesn’t bother Carson as an example of ambition gone mad but John Kasich deciding to pull out of Indiana does? What the hell happened to this guy? Was he like this all along?

Since we’re on the subject of Trump, here’s a new twist in the Paul Manafort drama: Trump was initially planning to attend the state Republican convention in Virginia this weekend to make his pitch for choosing pro-Trump delegates, but now he’s canceled. A direct appeal from the celebrity candidate himself would have been a boost to Manafort’s delegate-wrangling strategy. Why not do it?

Trump’s plan to speak at the Virginia GOP convention in Harrisonburg on Saturday — reported Monday by The Washington Post as part of the candidate’s ramped-up delegate efforts — was scrapped Tuesday afternoon after logistical concerns were raised following The Post report…

The decision to cancel the Virginia trip was made in a series of campaign calls Monday and Tuesday where the prospect of disruptive protests and the benefits of an appearance were discussed and debated, according to three people close to the Trump campaign…

The proposed travels are part of an evolving strategy with Trump’s inner circle about how to counter Sen. Ted Cruz’s highly organized efforts at recent state Republican conventions, where the Texas senator accumulated a growing number of delegates because of his team’s ability to navigate the events and rules.

He is planning to attend California’s state convention, which is smart given the number of delegates at stake there. As for skipping Virginia, you tell me. Maybe it was a simple matter of looking at the organizational effort Team Cruz has already put in and concluding that he’s likely to walk away with most of the state’s delegates on the second ballot whether Trump shows or not. The last thing he wants to do if he’s going to risk some personal political capital is show up at a state convention, get booed by the Cruzers there, and then get routed on the vote for delegates. Better to stay away if you’re destined to take some lumps.

In other “doing whatever it takes to achieve one’s goals” news today, a judge in New York refused to throw out a lawsuit filed against Trump alleging fraud in the conduct of Trump University. You may remember that as Exhibit A in Marco Rubio’s “con man” indictment of him, which, I guess, no longer bothers Rubio given that he’s now telling people he’s prepared to support Trump this fall against Hillary Clinton. Oh well. When you’re done with the Carson clip, go watch Herman Cain paying tribute to Trump’s “honesty and integrity.”