Trump Needs Cash To Shrug Off Record Low Poll Numbers, Donald Least Popular Candidate In Three Elections
Donald Trump sent out an urgent request for a cash infusion Saturday when he asked supporters to donate $100,000 to his presidential campaign, but it’s not clear the money will help him shrug off record low poll numbers.
A new poll from RealClearPolitics shows Trump with the lowest poll numbers of any major candidate in the last three elections cycles.
Donald now has less support than George W. Bush did in 2004, John McCain in 2008 and Mitt Romney in 2012, according to the Washington Post.
“There’s no way to look at Trump’s national polling that avoids the grim reality that he is at a lower ebb than any general election candidate has hit in the last three elections.”
Support for Donald briefly peaked with his May 3 win in Indiana that effectively made him the Republican nominee. His numbers dipped again May 27 after he questioned U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel’s inability to preside over the Trump University case because of his Mexican heritage.
Another poll, this one conducted by the Washington Post and ABC News, found seven out of 10 voters had a negative opinion of Donald Trump.
To be clear, the polls don’t show voters flocking to Clinton, they’re just dumping Trump.
Donald now trails Clinton by the same margin that McCain lost to Barack Obama in 2008; that was the worst performance for Republicans in a general election since 1996.
Donald Trump still hasn't started his general election campaign ? by @marinafang https://t.co/hVtDpaEvEN pic.twitter.com/gmR6hZUVpH
— HuffPost (@HuffPost) June 19, 2016
The bigger problem for the Republican Party if Trump’s numbers continue to tank isn’t just the possibility of losing the White House; they could also negatively impact the party’s chances in House and Senate races.
It could get even worse.
Trump still hasn’t swung into high gear with a national campaign, and he’s now wasted the month’s worth of time he had to prepare while Clinton was busy clinching the Democratic nomination.
That may be why Trump’s campaign sent out an emergency email Saturday asking supporters for an emergency infusion of cash, according to CNN.
“Right now we’re facing an emergency goal of $100,000 to help get our ads on the air. Crooked Hillary is about to invade your TV with ads attacking Mr. Trump. But we’re preparing to fight back.”
Get ready for racial profiling under President Donald Trump ? by @aterkel https://t.co/CQIK8DpvdS pic.twitter.com/jghqeC9UGz
— HuffPost (@HuffPost) June 19, 2016
Trump’s campaign promised to air attack ads targeting Clinton for her role in Benghazi, her political donors and the FBI probe of her email server while she was Secretary of State.
Trump previously insisted he would privately funding his presidential campaign using his own fortune making the emergency request for funds that much stranger.
Adding to the confusion Saturday was Donald’s threat to self fund his own campaign if Republicans refused to support him. While at a Las Vegas rally, Trump told reporters he just helped raise $12-13 million for the Republican Party, according to NBC News.
“Right now I’m raising a lot of money for the Republican Party, and a lot of beneficiaries to that, and I like doing it. Life is like a two-way street, right? They have to [help], otherwise I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing, I’ll just keep funding my own campaign…for me, that’s the easy way.”
House Speaker Paul Ryan offers Republicans an out for "very strange situation" of Donald Trump https://t.co/hgrywcw5Py
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) June 19, 2016
Republican leaders have continued to show their reluctance to line up behind Trump following his racist comments about Judge Curiel. House Speaker Paul Ryan said Friday he wouldn’t push others to vote for Donald even though he intends to do so himself. Also, a campaign to dump Trump at the national convention gained headway this week as some Republicans desperately sought an alternative to Donald.
Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton’s numbers remain steady and new polls show her with a decisive lead over the presumptive Republican candidate.
What do you think? Should the Republican Party dump Trump?
[Photo by Isaac Brekken/Getty Images]