This won’t be easy, but imagine, if you can, that Donald Trump is capable of putting his massive ego aside and is prepared to be gracious to a political opponent he doesn’t like — and one who, for good measure, doesn’t like him either. Unless you just emerged from a coma, you know we’re talking about the icy relationship between Trump and Nikki Haley.

Let’s imagine that Trump tells her that while they had their differences during the primary campaign, it’s time, for the sake of party unity, to put those differences in the rearview mirror. Imagine if he could muster what it takes to paise her for her intelligence and apologized for calling her a “birdbrain.”

Now imagine if he asked her to be his vice-presidential candidate, a conciliatory gesture that would go a long way in winning over her voters — and a lot of other moderate voters too, especially suburban women — and would certainly enhance his chances of winning in November.

But that’s not going to happen. Donald Trump is a man who holds grudges and doesn’t like anyone too close to him with strong, independent views. He prefers the kind of people who, whether they really believe it or not, will go out on the campaign trail and enthusiastically........

© The Hill