For a candidate posing as a strong leader, Donald Trump sure whines a lot. When Trump realized his media-driven campaign of personality was falling short in the critical goal of winning loyal delegates, and the Ted Cruz campaign was out-working and out-organizing him, Trump began railing against “voterless elections” and a “rigged, crooked system.”  It’s a dishonest tactic, but so far, he’s getting away with it. Worse, his campaign is engaging in intimidation and veiled, and not so veiled, threats of violence if things don’t go his way at the convention. It’s an ugly spectacle, made worse by the fact Trump’s supporters don’t seem to mind.

Things turned sour for Trump starting in Colorado. Trump charges “party bosses” awarded all the state’s delegates to Ted Cruz. The allegation is as absurd as it is false. On March 1, over 65,000 Coloradans gathered in homes, schools and churches, and cast votes for delegates to continue on to county and congressional district assemblies and the State Assembly. These were public gatherings, open to all Republicans who desired to participate. Grassroots supporters of Ted Cruz organized, voiced their support for Cruz, and won their neighbors’ votes to go as delegates to the National Convention. There is no way any “party boss” could control the outcome of the tens of thousands of votes that were cast in the process starting with the caucus and culminating with the state assembly on April 9.

That didn’t stop Trump from spewing his usual fiction, tweeting:  “How is it possible that the people of the great State of Colorado never got to vote in the Republican Primary? Great anger — totally unfair!”  He added: “The people of Colorado had their vote taken away from them by the phony politicians. Biggest story in politics. This will not be allowed!”

National media mostly relayed Trump’s complaints uncritically, leading his supporters to lash out because they believe their candidate was wronged. Colorado Republican leaders received threats and ugly messages. Trump henchman Roger Stone posted a threatening video saying the campaign would publicize the hotels and room numbers of delegates committed to Cruz. Trump coyly says he hopes there won’t be any violence, but he understands why people are so angry. Pouring gas on the flames is not presidential behavior. But many Trump backers eat it up.

Trump’s complaints are especially hypocritical because he has actually benefited from the nominating system he’s complaining about. An NBC News analysis found that while Trump received just 37 percent of primary votes cast up through the New York primary, he has collected 45 percent of all the pledged delegates that have been awarded. The report concludes Trump’s delegate share is about 20 percent higher than his vote share. Rigged? Absolutely not.

No matter; Trump’s new convention manager and apparent de facto campaign manager Paul Manafort continues to stoke the flames. He claims Cruz abused the delegate selection process. Manafort is threatening to challenge the Colorado delegation to the national convention. However, at a closed-door meeting with the RNC in Florida Manafort told me directly, “cooler heads prevailed” and there would be no challenge to Colorado delegates. Fellow delegate Mike McAlpine who witnessed the confrontation confirmed the account to CNN and the Denver Post. But in perfect Trump-esque flip-flopper fashion — just like his boss — Manafort reversed himself within hours.

Trump’s assault isn’t limited to Colorado. He is also arguing against the longstanding principle that a candidate has to win a majority of all delegates (1,237 this year) to be nominated. Historically, if no candidate had a majority on the first ballot, then some delegates would be released to vote for their preference in subsequent rounds of balloting. This is known as an open or contested convention.

Trump argues the traditional system should be scrapped; and if he goes to Cleveland with a plurality of delegates (less than a majority, but more than others) he has the right to be nominated. That is nonsense. The nomination has always required a majority. Trump wants to change the rules he doesn’t like. The Donald’s campaign is priming his backers for an ugly reaction if he doesn’t get his way.

It’s very worrisome to wonder how a man like Trump would exercise the powers of the presidency. When a candidate traffics in insults, lies, distortion and vulgarity, it’s important to consider how he’ll behave in office. When he offers to pay legal costs for backers who injure protesters, and says he wishes he could hit hecklers in the face, it would be foolish not to worry what kind of punches the president of the United States could throw. Donald Trump does not inspire confidence, except among those of a certain angry mindset. And that’s a problem.