It was an improvised fit of pique, roundly and vigorously denounced by his rivals all weekend, that exposed the biggest vulnerability of Mr. Trump’s campaign for president: It is built entirely around the instincts and grievances of its unpredictable candidate -- and does not rely on a conventional political operation that protects presidential hopefuls from themselves....To Trump's admirers, all of these things are pluses, not minuses. He's not a politician! He's a citizen who continues his private-sector work as he seeks office! (And not just a citizen - an entrepreneur! A job creator!) He's not surrounded by career political hacks who run all of words past focus groups! He just is who he is!
Never mind that his top rivals for the Republican nomination treat campaigning like a full-time job. For Mr. Trump, the task of seeking the White House occupies half his time, he estimated in an interview. (“It’s probably 50-50,” he said.)
The rest of the Republican field’s top tier has cast a wide net to find experienced political aides. But Mr. Trump has plucked much of his team from inside his own corporate empire. (The résumé of his Iowa co-chairwoman: She was a contestant on “The Apprentice.”)...
There is no real policy shop churning out position papers, or for that matter a well-staffed central headquarters plotting his long-term message, or speechwriters drafting -- or modulating -- his words.
I'm not sure how many Trump cultists have read this, but those who have might regard it a puff piece -- or see the criticism in the piece as a sign that the political/journalistic establishment values all the wrong things. It's hardly going to diminish their admiration for their guy.
