David Rees of The Baffler has an interesting theory about Donald Trump: that the [presumptive] Republican nominee doesn’t have the type of personality that will take him all the way to the November election.

It’s not that the Republicans, already in probably the worst position of any major party in the history of presidents and elections, will push Trump out—they had their chance to do this months ago, and now they're consigned to their party’s dreadful fate. No, this will be the doing of Trump himself, in response to a very effective Clinton campaign and the national media working in concert to tear him down. Now that the primaries are [presumptively] behind us, they’ll consolidate their attacks on who has proven himself to be a very attack-worthy man. (Hillary's tweet was a good start.) And as soon as it becomes obvious that the election will be a landslide in Clinton’s favor—it's becoming more and more obvious every second that I type this—Trump will walk away, preferring to quit rather than look bad. Because if there’s one thing Donald Trump is NOT, it’s a loser.

From Rees:

At some point Trump will realize that the longer he stays in the race, the more he looks like a loser. The media will be clobbering him every day. (And by “clobbering,” I mean “asking him questions about things he has said.”) The Republican establishment will keep him at arm’s length, and those arms will grow longer with every new poll. Super PACs will start airing brutal ads about his temperament, past allegations of physical abuse, financial misdeeds, and everything else that’s been quietly researched and assembled over the past twelve months. The audience for his rallies will dwindle—you only need to see that show once. And what will he have to look forward to? Nationally televised debates against a politically savvy, morally ruthless, hyper-prepared policy expert . . . who happens to be a woman? No thank you!

I’m calling it: Trump will drop out of the race by July 5 at the latest. He will blame the unfair media and political correctness, allude to some wack-ass conspiracy involving Black Lives Matter and/or Hezbollah, and go to his grave telling everyone he knows that if he had stayed in the race, he would’ve beaten Clinton. Remember: It’s better to be a quitter than a loser, because a quitter can always say he would’ve been a winner. (NOTE: Do not share this fact with your children.)

Rees is putting forth a theory I haven't heard repeated (and I don't buy his July 5 timeline), but I think he's on to something. Trump is about to get absolutely battered, not just by the Clinton campaign but by a team that includes Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders [yes, eventually], and a national media that is realizing that, page hits aside, this national joke really isn't funny anymore. And if hothead Trump doesn't take his marbles and go home, there are two alternatives: One, Trump becomes president. Two, Trump concedes on Election Night—basically, admitting he’s a loser. I have a really tough time believing either one of those will go down.