Trump doesn’t know much about policy or conservative philosophy or history, but one thing he studies pretty extensively is polling. And Trump has seen the polling that indicates that he would lose either a head-to-head matchup with Cruz or a three-way matchup with Cruz and Rubio. And Trump realizes that the faster the GOP field consolidates down to two (or three) candidates) the worse his chances for the nomination are.

Accordingly, he plans to let the egos of the people who are remaining in the field do his work for him by deluding themselves into believing that they have a chance, or by stoking the fires of resentment between them.

Here’s the reality: everyone in the race – and I do mean everyone – has placed all their chips down in either Iowa or New Hampshire. There’s not a single candidate in the race who can credibly say that they were really waiting until South Carolina or Nevada to make their strongest showing. Anyone who does not finish in the top 3 for either contest has no shot at the nomination. None.