title:  A MASSIVE Screw Up May Have Just Cost Trump The Nomination – And It’s All His Fault
text: The people insisting the only thing standing in the way of Donald Trump s path to the nomination is Donald Trump himself may have finally been vindicated. In an explosive story first broken by TIME, Republican officials in South Carolina floated the idea that Trump may have given away his landslide victory in the state by brashly announcing that he would no longer adhere to the  Loyalty Pledge  if he didn t get the nomination.South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Matt Moore gave credence to the anti-Trump claims. Breaking South Carolina s presidential primary ballot pledge raises some unanswered legal questions that no one person can answer,  he told TIME.  However, a court or national convention Committee on Contests could resolve them. It could put delegates in jeopardy. What does this mean for Trump? The 50 delegates he won in South Carolina could simply walk away   and over to his opponents. That sends his delegate count a lot further away from the crucial 1,237 finish line, and maybe give his opponents the push they need to realistically challenge him at a brokered convention. And adding to the problem: Other states which include the loyalty pledge in their bylaws could also move to strip Trump of his delegates.All of this to say, Trump s massive ego is costing him the election. Having early on floated the idea that he wouldn t support a Republican candidate if it wasn t himself, Trump eventually caved and signed a document stating: I, Donald J. Trump, affirm that if I do not win the 2016 Republican nomination for President of the United States I will endorse the 2016 Republican nominee regardless of who it is. Suddenly, with opposition to his nomination mounting, Trump has returned to saying he will not adhere to that pledge, telling Anderson Cooper matter-of-factly:  No. I don t anymore,  arguing that he s been treated unfairly by the GOP.Trump has repeatedly ignored conventional wisdom and used his gut to direct his campaign   early on, Trump s campaign manager told staffers that the motto of the campaign would be  Let Trump Be Trump    and while it often works to his advantage (who would have thought calling John McCain a loser for being a POW would pay off?), his increasingly erratic behavior makes him a ticking time bomb. Cracks are beginning to emerge. His polls are tanking and there are signs that the  anti-Trump  members of the Republican Party are finally coalescing around his chief rival, Ted Cruz. He may have enough momentum to get the nod, but needlessly handing away delegates isn t doing him any favors.In the end there was only one serious contender against Trump and that was himself. For all of his arrogance, it is fitting that his own misplaced hubris would be the one thing that got the better of him. Having run as an outsider for his entire campaign, Trump is learning that bashing the party you plan to run for isn t welcomed with open arms. They let Trump be Trump and he didn t disappoint.Featured image via Darren Hauck/Getty Images 