Now that Ted Cruz has closed the gap between Donald Trump and himself, a lot of Trump supporters are starting to show signs of exasperation. Even Ann Coulter said, “I am a little testy with our man right now.” Regarding Trump’s retweet of Heidi Cruz’s unflattering picture, Coulter added, “This is the worst thing he’s done.” (That was before his comment about punishing women who have abortions.)

Like pretty much everyone else, I find Trump to be a fascinating character — a psychiatrist’s dream if ever there was one. From the time he entered the race and went immediately to the head of the pack, it appeared to me that the Republican nomination was his for the taking. For many months, I had the feeling that any time he decided to put it into high gear, he could trot into the end zone untouched.

But what makes him such a great psychological study is that every time the Trump Train appears to be unstoppable, he doesn’t so much stumble as jump off a cliff. Perhaps the best example of this was when the nude photograph of his wife was made public. What a great advertisement for Trump. It was almost too good to be true. It looked like it was time for him to go ahead and make that trot into the end zone.

All he needed to do was say something like, “I want to thank whoever put that picture of my wife on the Internet. Isn’t she a gorgeous woman? Even better, she’s just as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside — and smart as a whip, to boot.”

Game over! How does a Trump hater respond to that? But, unfortunately for DT, that’s not what he said. Instead, he took the bait and jumped into a pot of boiling water, courtesy of Ted Cruz’s masterful portrayal of feigned indignation. Is it possible that Trump is just stupid — or perhaps emotionally unstable? I doubt it. I find it hard to believe that someone can build a multibillion dollar empire with either of those traits weighing him down.

The only answer I can come up with is one that I’ve mentioned on at least a couple of other occasions during this unbearably long campaign: Maybe Donald Trump doesn’t really want to be president. A year ago, I didn’t think he would actually run, but since he got into the race and leaped to the top spot, a part of me has always wondered if his quick success didn’t take him by surprise.

More to the point, I wondered if he might not be thinking, “Whoa, hold on here. I was just looking to have some fun and get a little publicity in the process, but I don’t want to spend the next eight years of my life getting beat up by the media wing of the Democratic Party when I could be enjoying the sultan-style life I already have in place.” Speaking for myself, I sure wouldn’t trade Trump’s lifestyle for the rat-infested job of the presidency.

If this theory is correct (and it is just a theory), it would explain why Trump seems so self-destructive. Just think about it for a moment. No one has been able to damage him, no matter what they say or do. The only person who has hurt Donald trump is Donald Trump. He may not have seen the enemy as yet, but, clearly, the enemy is him.

In any event, the question now is, can Trump still win if he turns on the charm and acts “presidential?” Maybe, but an awful lot of damage has already been done and it’s getting late in the game. Wisconsin is probably lost, and, if so, getting to 1,237 is going to be even harder.

The sad thing about all this is that, contrary to popular belief, if Trump were to become the Republican nominee, he would absolutely destroy Hillary. The polls that show her beating him are meaningless — a complete joke. The election is more than seven months away, and in politics that’s a lifetime. He hasn’t even thrown a serous punch at her yet.

In fact, any Republican would defeat Hillary in a landslide. She would have difficulty getting through the first debate without having to be taken away and put in a padded cell. It would be like a felony buffet. Her opponent would have the luxury of picking and choosing from a delicious array of scandals, lies, and assorted crimes.

(Having said this, I still have my doubts that Hillary will even be the Democratic nominee. Let’s see what Mr. Comey comes up with in the next couple of months before anointing her. My guess is that Obama will assign Joltin’ Joe the task of securing a third term for himself, but Biden would not be hard to beat either.)

Now to the real bottom line that Trump supporters should keep in mind: The Trump phenomenon is not so much about him as it is a movement to get rid of career politicians. It’s about Mush McCain, Gomer Graham, Mooch McConnell, Santa Ryan, Twit Mitt, and just about everybody in the Dirty Dem wing of the Demopublican Party. Voters want their country back, and they want the thieves and liars in Washington put out to pasture — or, better yet, put in jail.

That said, if it looks like the Trump Train is likely to be derailed as convention time draws near, DT could become a genuine historical hero if he formed a third party. I would guess that anywhere from 50-75 percent of his supporters would jump off the Republican ship, which would surely end the viability of the Party.

However, once the first poll came out showing that the Republican Party was going to lose in a landslide to whomever the Democratic candidate might be, I believe the establishment would come knocking at Trump’s door and offer him the nomination if he would return. Or, even worse for Republicans, Trump’s third party might just move forward and beat the Republicans and the Democrats. In which case the corrupt Republican Party would fulfill its destiny of spending eternity in political hell alongside the long-deceased Whigs.

Actually, there is one other possibility I should mention: The Republican establishment, hysterical over the possible loss of their power and access to money and goodies, might just decide to play scorched earth, lose the election, lose the Supreme Court, lose the Senate, and make Lizardman Carville’s prediction that the Democrats would be in power for forty years come true.

Any way you look at it, it’s pretty ugly — and a very bad time to be an establishment Republican.