What are the odds that Donald Trump uses the convention at Cleveland to dump the Republican Party? Not all that low. Since winning the magical number of 1237, his war with the party that (sort of) contains him has surpassed the contest each has with Hillary Clinton in drama, convulsions and angst. He has passed up no chance to embarrass, confound and appall it, and it has responded by gagging, grimacing and pulling away.

Govs. Baker, Hogan. and Haslam have refused to endorse him. Sen. Mark Kirk has withdrawn his endorsement. The governor of Michigan and four of nine congressmen have refused to endorse him. Sen. John Cornyn has refused to discuss him until the election is over, and numerous unhappy members of Congress have been reduced to repeating that while they endorse him, they deplore, despise and disagree with every last word he has said. If they seem more and more willing to cast him adrift, he has been busy returning the favor. “Be quiet. Just please be quiet. Don’t talk,” he told them on Wednesday. “We have to … stick together or let me just do it … I’m going to do very well. … A lot of people thought I should do that anyway, but I’ll just do it very nicely by myself.”