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We all know that Donald Trump will enter the Cleveland Republican National Convention next week as the presumptive nominee20p Archives but the most important word there is 'presumptive.'

It hasn't been an easy road to hoe for poor, embattled Trump, despite the fact that he won 1,543 delegates of the 1,237 needed to secure the nomination. He has faced the #NeverTrump movement, threats for delegates to vote for a completely different nominee and the spectre of unbound delegates.

And he still faces some longshot Hail Marys that are trying desperately to divert the nomination away from the golden-haired real estate mogul/reality star/rumored small hands owner. Several different schemes have been set in motion to nominate someone else, anyone else, as the Republican presidential nominee.

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SEE ALSO: The internet tells Trump his rumored VP choice sucks

Of course, these plans have a minuscule, basically non-existent, chance of succeeding. But that didn't stop us wanting to explain them all and why they are doomed.

1. Contested convention

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The largest area of the Stop Trump venn diagram, onto which most other plans load their hopes, is the idea of a brokered, or contested, convention.

This idea would come from the fact that many, though not most, states allow for delegates to be 'unbound' if a candidate does not win the majority of the vote. This means that those delegates could vote for another candidate other than the one declared the winner of the specific contest.

As you will recall, the Republican primary began with quite the crowded field of 14 bright-eyed candidates all vying for the top seat aboard the charging elephant. Because of this, especially in early contests, Trump succeeded (where he did) by winning a pluralityof votes and not a majority.

In fact, he was only able to win a majority of voters in 17 states, and several of those primaries were held after his main rivals got the hell out of Dodge.

So, the theory was that enough of these delegates would be free from their responsibility because of the primary results to break from the 'winner' of their state and vote for someone completely different. Like anyone else.

Likelihood of stopping Trump:

This will not happen. It was discussed a lot in the spring, because Trump had not yet reached that magic number of 1,237 to clinch the presumptive nomination. Then, it looked possible that Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and John Kasich could rustle up enough delegates of their own to keep Trump away from the number. If that would have happened, then even more of the delegates would have become unbound and could vote for whomever.

Alas, to those hoping for such an eventuality, Trump, secured 1,543 delegates and only 95 of those remain unbound — not enough to keep him away from the number needed.

2. Unbound the delegates (possibly with a Roll Call vote)

Trump's safety in numbers has not stopped other conservatives from hatching other plans.

Two new groups, Free the Delegates and Delegates Unbound, have joined their efforts and millions of dollars raised over the past few months to petition the Republican National Convention's Rules Committee. The groups hope to convince the committee to, as their name suggests, free the delegates from voting based solely on the outcome of their states' primary.

"[T]oday, we are saddled with a presidential candidate who holds none of the qualities of our party's greatest leaders," the petition on the Free the Delegates website reads. "He lacks common decency, respect of the Constitution, and the temperament of someone fit to be Commander-in-Chief... [Reince Priebus], we are calling on you to support us in reaffirming the longstanding principle that delegates to the GOP Convention can vote their conscience in the name of preserving the legacy of our party and our nation."

Likelihood of stopping Trump:

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This is very unlikely, especially after last Thursday, when the Rules Committee voted against this 'conscience' unbinding proposed by the Never Trump groups.

But it's not over quite yet. The leader of Free the Delegates, Kendal Unruh, is prepared to file a "minority report," whereby, if she can find 28 members of the Rules Committee to sign it, then this proposition will go before the entire convention for a decision. That will put into action a vocal vote from the delegates and a result still is in question, a roll call vote may be had.

Politics, y'all.

3. Vote for Paul Ryan

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Months ago, many rumors circulated about Paul Ryan taking over a contested convention and becoming the nominee in the process.

Billionaire GOP funder Charles Koch seemed certain back in April that Trump would fail to secure the delegates and that the Speaker of the House would be a shoe-in for the contested votes that would follow. Since then, of course, the delegates have been sealed and it doesn't look like they will be unbound.

But still, as a speaker at the Republican National Convention and the highest-ranking, currently serving establishment politician in attendance, his words carry weight. So, it came off to some as pretty telling when he said last month, “It is not my job to tell delegates what to do.”

Likelihood of stopping Trump:

Nope, sorry. Because of the numbers Trump gained and Ryan's commitment to unify the party as much as he can, the speaker will most likely talk up the importance of togetherness.

4. Rule number nine

Should Trump's nomination go forward as planned, the Republican National Committee does have a dastardly ejection seat that it could use to escape the jet and have it fly into the political mountain. In the rules of the Republican National Committee, last amended in August, 2014, there exists rule number nine. It reads as follows:

"The Republican National Committee is hereby authorized and empowered to fill any and all vacancies which may occur by reason of death, declination, or otherwise of the Republican candidate for President of the United States or the Republican candidate for Vice President of the United States, as nominated by the national convention..."

Essentially, since "otherwise" is a very vague term, the Republican National Committee could, in theory, simply remove a candidate (after they are chosen) and fill the vacancy. Just as simple as that.

Likelihood of stopping Trump:

Nah, they wouldn't do that. This would be like a self-destruct button. It would completely undermine millions of voters and cast a very long shadow over the Republican Party, one that would take them a long time to get out of. Plus, the bad press such a move would cause would most probably affect the upcoming election and not in the way the GOP would want.

5. Trump wins election, goes ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ and chooses not to serve

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Say he wins the nomination as planned and then goes on to defeat Hillary in the November election, is there still a chance he would decide not to serve?

He alluded to as much in an interview July 7 with the New York Times.

“I’ll let you know how I feel about it after it happens,” he said, referring to the electoral win.

Of course, this is a very broad statement and the Times sells it as being said with "a mischievous smile." They assert that Trump is ultra competitive and might not be interested in actually leading the executive branch of the country.

In that case, Trump would basically join the #NeverTrump movement and grant them what it wants.

Likelihood of Trump stopping Trump:

As interesting as this would politically be, it's probably, almost definitely not going to happen. The flimsiness of the Times'quote does not give near enough credence to that line of speculation. If he wins, the world will probably be stuck with him.

Sorry anti-Trump folks, it looks like he will be the Republican candidate and maybe serve as the president.

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