You know how Trump keeps complaining about how he’s being cheated out of the nomination? That he’s being denied what, in his pathetic little mind, is rightfully his? Conservatives have been running around in circles trying to defend the notion that Trump might not be the nominee — Cruz is outplaying him, Trump knew the rules and ignored them, this is how primaries work. But here’s a question: why, exactly, are we on the defensive? Rush Limbaugh had a caller on his show ask about denying Trump the nomination, and Limbaugh made a brilliant point: Trump isn’t being denied anythign… because he hasn’t actually won yet. Remember?

RUSH: Your point is if Trump is denied the nomination, the big lesson will be that there is no political solution for Republican grievances, and you have no idea what the answer to our problem is. If they deny Trump the nomination, we’re out of ways to stop what’s destroying the country?

CALLER: Exactly what your friend said in the e-mail. This is our last chance.

RUSH: Okay.

CALLER: Our freedom in our country is at risk.

RUSH: No, I understand.

CALLER: We’re tired of waiting.

RUSH: I understand that. I need to go back to the very first thing you said, and I’m gonna trust that you were literal. Remember, I’m the mayor of Realville. You said, “If Trump is denied the nomination…” No, no, no, no. Trump has to win it. What do you mean, if Trump is denied? He hasn’t won it yet! If he wins it and he’s denied, then you’ve got a point. If he gets to 1,237 and they try to take it away from him, then you’ve got a real point. But he hasn’t won diddly-squat yet. He hasn’t gotten 1,237. He hasn’t won.

There’s nothing to deny yet, and I think that may be a point. There is no entitlement here. Just because you’re leading doesn’t mean it’s yours. The other candidates are not just gonna lay down and die and go away. Look at Kasich. There’s no reason to stay in this, other than to gum up the works, and he’s doing it. There is no way Cruz can get to 1,237, but he’s not going away. There is no entitlement. The assumption here, if Trump is denied the nomination…

Now, I trust that what you’re saying is that if Trump gets to 1,237 and they take it away from him… If that happens, there’s gonna be blood. If that happens, there’s gonna be a genuine… It’s gonna make what happened in Chicago 1968 look like tiddlywinks and Romper Room. But if Trump gets to 1,150 and they don’t give it to him, he’s not being denied. The rule says 1,237, and they’re gonna do everything they can to keep him from getting there.

Trump and his supporters seem to have forgotten that Trump isn’t owed the nomination just because he wants it. And Ted Cruz fighting to win isn’t cheating. That’s kind of how it works. They’re supposed to fight to win… except in Trump’s narcissistic mind, where he’s entitled to have something just because he wants it.

Guess what? Ted Cruz campaigning and wooing delegates isn’t cheating, because Donald Trump hasn’t won. Remember that? He has to actually win first. He has to earn it. Now, that’s probably a tough concept for a spoiled rich brat like Donald Trump to figure out, the guy who was handed billions of dollars that his dad worked for and then squandered it away, but that’s life, buddy. If Ted Cruz wins the nomination, it’s not because Trump was “denied” anything; that implies that the nomination belongs to him, and it doesn’t. Donald Trump may want to be president, but that doesn’t mean he deserves it or that it should just be handed to him. He tried, and he might lose. That’s not just how elections work. It’s how the world works. It’s a sign of what a pampered, over-privileged, entitled brat Trump is that he doesn’t understand this, that he throws a temper tantrum every time something doesn’t go his way.

The crazy thing isn’t that Trump is an entitled, sniveling brat, though, it’s that he conned so many other people into behaving the same way he does. Just like Trump isn’t owed the nomination just because he wants it, no one is entitled for their candidate to win just because they support them. Was Rubio “denied” the nomination? Jeb Bush? Chris Christie? Carly Fiorina? No, they tried, and they failed. They weren’t “denied” anything. They lost. Trump, and his supporters, need to get that through their thick skulls.

Trump isn’t being denied the nomination. He’s just losing.