America's 5 stages of Trump grief, as told by 23 headlines
America has moved from denial to acceptance. It hasn't been easy.

After Donald Trump's Tuesday sweep through Florida, Illinois, and North Carolina, it seems clear: Barring some unprecedented intervention from the RNC, Donald Trump is very likely going to be the Republican Party's nominee for president of the United States.
This hasn't been easy for many Americans to accept. Indeed, as Trump surged, much of the nation went through the five stages of grief: first, laughing off Trump's candidacy as a joke, then getting really mad about the joke going on too long, then attempting to talk ourselves into thinking maybe Trump wouldn't actually be that bad, then just being really darn depressed about the whole thing. Only now does America seems to realize just how real the Trump phenomenon is.
As told by the headlines, here is the rise of Trump and the trajectory of America's grief over it:
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Stage one: Denial
"Stop pretending — Donald Trump is not running for president" —New York Post, May 30, 2015
"Why Donald Trump isn't a real candidate, in one chart" —FiveThirtyEight, June 16, 2015
"Donald Trump is running for president and it's going to be so hilarious" —Mother Jones, June 16, 2015
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"Most Americans don't consider Donald Trump a serious candidate" —The Huffington Post, June 23, 2015
"The real reason why Donald Trump will never be president" —Vice, Aug. 13, 2015
Stage two: Anger
"Trump is a bad deal for the GOP" —National Review, July 8, 2015
"Republicans try to cancel the Donald Trump show" —The Atlantic, July 9, 2015
"GOP ganging up to trounce Trump? —Fox Business, Aug. 19, 2015
"OK, this Trump thing isn't funny anymore" —The Daily Beast, Aug. 27, 2015
Stage three: Bargaining
"A surprising number of Republicans think Donald Trump is their best hope in 2016" —The Washington Post, Oct. 14, 2015
"Private memo lays out how the GOP would deal with Donald Trump as its nominee" —The Washington Post, Dec. 2, 2015
"Trump may be a bigot, but to the GOP, he's still better than Clinton" —Mashable, Dec. 8, 2015
"America, please don't do this to us" —The Huffington Post, Feb. 29, 2016
Stage four: Depression
"Donald Trump is a huge embarrassment for America" —CNN, Dec. 10, 2015
"Trump's nomination would rip the heart out of the Republican Party" —The Washington Post, Jan. 7, 2016
"Three scariest words: President Donald Trump" —CNN, Feb. 1, 2016
"GOP wakes up to Trump nightmare" —Politico, Feb. 23, 2016
Stage five: Acceptance
"Ron Paul admits Donald Trump, not his son, will probably be the GOP nominee" —New York, Jan. 20, 2016
"Republican elites surrender to Trump" —The Washington Post, Jan. 22, 2016
"President Trump is now a possibility. And it's terrifying." —The Daily Beast, Jan. 31, 2016
"Robbins: It's over; Trump is going to be the Republican nominee" —CNN, Feb. 27, 2016
"Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton nominations look likely after big wins" —The Chicago Tribune, March 16, 2016
"Donald Trump is unstoppable," —The Week, March 16, 2016
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