“They are setting up a ‘throw your hands in the air’ scenario, saying that winning the election is just unattainable because it’s rigged in favor of Hillary Clinton, therefore preserving the support of millions of voters that like him to keep them motivated for another race or whatever comes in the future,” GOP strategist Ron Bonjean said.

Other Republicans dismissed Trump’s claims entirely, arguing that Trump’s biggest stumbling block is his own campaign missteps.

“I’m beginning to think it is rigged and Trump is a Clinton plant. If he was, what would he do differently this week?” Josh Holmes, a former aide to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, said sarcastically in an email…

But in Bonjean’s view, while many Republicans would dismiss claims that the entire system is rigged, recent rulings undercutting state voter ID laws could provide Trump with an opening to land some of his punches.