Talk of Trump quitting race creates media buzz, but it's likely 'absurd'

Republican National Committee memberMorton Blackwellbelieves all this talk of Donald Trump possibly droppingout of the presidential race isakin to the never-realizedplot to dump the controversialcandidateat the party's convention in July.

It made for some good headlines, butin the end, it was just a lot of noise with no real chance of coming to fruition.

"I think there is no substanceto it and Ithink anybody who knows Donald Trump ...knows that the idea that he would withdraw his candidacy is absurd," Blackwell said.

Absurd, perhaps, but in a campaign that has been unconventional and unprecedented from the start,nothing can truly be taken off the table.

Certainly it's been a bad week for Trumpa series of controversial comments sparked a series ofbad headlines, allfeedinginto the narrative thathis campaign, and the candidate himself, areimploding.

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From apublic spat with the Muslim familyof a dead U.S.soldier, to eyebrow-raising claims that the election will be rigged, tohis refusal to endorse House SpeakerPaul Ryan and Arizona Senator John McCain in their primary racesTrump's actions havedominated the news cycle. (On Friday night, Trump publicly endorsed Ryan and McCain).

So too did reports that some keyRepublicans havedefected to his rival's campaign.

Since Trump announced his candidacy, a small contingent ofprominent conservatives has vowed not to vote for himthe so-called #NeverTrumpers.Although many of them areundecided as to exactly what they'll do on election day, a few party loyalists are so concerned about a Trump presidencythey've publicly pledged their support for Democratic presidential nomineeHillary Clinton.

'Country first before party'

Hewlett Packard executive Meg Whitman, a Republican Party fundraiser who ran for governor of California,said she supports Clintonand will help her raise money. Trump, she told the New York Times, isa "dishonest demagogue" and the Republicans need to put "country first before party."

Richard Hanna became the first sitting Republicancongressman to say he would vote for Clinton. The representative from New York said Trump is "unfit to serve our party and cannot lead this country."

Key advisers to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former Florida governor Jeb Bush also declared they're ditching the party to support Clinton.

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Then came aFox News poll: Trump is trailing Clinton by 10 points, results immediately seized upon by anti-Trump conservatives, who for months have argued his candidacy is doomed in the general election.

There was also talk of an intervention,that senior Republicans who backed Trump, includingRepublican National Committee headReincePriebus, former New York City mayorRudyGiulianiand former House Speaker NewtGingrich, hope to convince him to resethis campaign and get back on message, NBC News reported.

And in the wake of the barrage of negative headlines, Republicandefections andbad poll numbers,ABC News reported thatsenior party officials have become so frustratedwith Trump, they've actuallybegunexploring their options to replace him on the ballot if he withdraws from the race.

And withdrawal would be the only way that Trump would no longer be the Republican candidate becauseany attempt to force him to leave would likely be futile.

Some have suggested there is a possibility, however small, that members of the Republican National Committeecould force Trump out. They point toRule 9 of the partybylaws, which says the committee is "authorized and empowered to fill any and all vacancies which may occur by reason of death, declination, or otherwise."

They arguethe word"otherwise" may give the committee some wiggle room, and that thecandidacy couldbe declared vacant because leading members of the committee feel Trump is unfit to lead.

But James Bopp, a top U.S.constitutional scholar and conservative attorney, firmly rejects that notion.

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"There is no authority under our rules to remove a candidate, period," Boppsaid. "It doesn't matter what the reason. How compelling or not. There's noauthority to do that."

But whatif Trump decided to throw in the towel?

Any vacancy would be filled either by reconvening the national convention highly unlikely or by the Republican National Committee, said Joshua Putnam,political science professor at the University of Georgia.

'Choose anybody they wanted'

In the case of the latter, the three committee members from each state would be responsible for choosing a replacement.

"They could choose anybody they wanted," saidHans Noel, an associate professor of political scienceat Georgetown University."Of course they need to choose someone who will appear to be legitimate."

That means Trump'srunning mate Mike Pence would be a strong contender, as would any of the party'sformer candidates.

But the process would be further complicated by the fact that each state has its own set of electoral rules and deadlines.

"This is a very complicated question that involves the state law of every state and District of Columbia," Bopp said. "What happens when you have a vacancy? How is it filled and what are the legal requirements to get on the ballot in each one of those states?"

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But ifTrump is actually thinking about calling it quits a big "if" indeed his fundraising numbers for July might give him pause. His campaign took in $80 million for the month, not far off Clinton's $90-million haul.

Anddespite all the chatter andspeculation, it's still very early in the race.

"We are in August people," Amy Walter wrotefor the Cook Political Report. "There is a long way to go until November."