It’s also a very deliberate strategy to give a little bit of space for people who’ve identified as Republicans in the past but refuse to follow Trump. He’s saying that you don’t have to identify as a Democrat, or even necessarily drop the Republican party as a whole, but rather you simply have to recognize the obvious fact that Trump represents a major departure from the Republican party of the past and refuse to go along with it.

Of course, the part that isn’t being said is that the old Republican party is well and truly dead and buried, but speaking diplomatically like that is very good politics and can help him net some more moderate votes in tighter margin states.