The risk for Mr. Trump is that too much baby-kissing, people-pleasing, Mr. Nice Guy politicking will come across as inauthentic to voters who like that he is, in their view, a tough-talking realist about perceived threats from Muslims, illegal immigrants, and budget-busting Democratic and Republican leaders in Washington.
.. Republican strategists were divided about whether he could win the party’s nomination without embracing retail politics.
.. “This was one of the reasons Romney lost, in my view — he just did largely rallies and stump speeches and was not seen rolling up his sleeves and talking to people where they live,” said Greg Mueller, who advised Patrick J. Buchanan when he ran in New Hampshire in 1992 and 1996. “Trump is positioning on the issues as a populist and a nationalist. He now has to connect with people where they live, not just in speeches.”
.. Only sporadically does Mr. Trump take questions from actual voters, and even those town hall-style events have an atypical feel, with people shouting out questions or Mr. Trump answering them in lightning-round fashion.
.. “He’s the reality TV candidate out here,” Mr. Gross said. “It’s hard to entertain people when they have fried chicken curling out of the corner of their mouths. That’s a dangerous move for him, to transition from reality TV to politics in real time.”