Has Donald Trump hit his high water mark in terms of his brand value? There is an old adage that says you should buy on the sizzle, sell on the steak.

So far, Trump’s efforts have been mostly sizzle. He really did not have to do anything but hype himself to win the primaries. Assuming he gets the nomination (hey, a lot of things could happen: Paul Ryan) he will have to start putting up some actual policies and those policies will be subject to a lot more scrutiny as they are the policies of the potential president.

Trump’s steak (!)  probably won’t stand up so well to the scrutiny. In addition, the publicity around Trump University and his many other ‘cons’ will likely only get worse. What if he gets beaten badly by Hillary Clinton? Even if he wins the election there is a good chance his approval rating will quickly fall to the dismal levels of George W’s.

Trump keeps telling his supporters (and investors) that he is a winner and that is one of the main reasons they line up behind him. Will he be able to maintain his support and brand value once he starts taking some real, sustained, hits? Or will his supporters turn around one day and tell him, “Donald, you’re fired!”.