Presumed Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has regained a double-digit lead over Donald Trump, according to a poll that was released yesterday by Reuters . The poll, which was conducted online and had 1,201 probable voters in all 50 states, had a measure of accuracy of 3.3 points.
“The June 20-24 poll showed that 46.6 percent of likely American voters supported Clinton while 33.3 percent supported Trump. Another 20.1 percent said they would support neither candidate.”
While there is still a ton of controversy regarding the recent nightclub shooting that happened at Pulse, a popular nightclub in Orlando, Florida, Trump temporarily benefited from the incident. In a poll that was released last week, it appeared as though potential voters were being swayed by what Trump had to say about the shooting and who was responsible.
In addition to blaming radical Islamic terrorism, Trump furthered his stance to build the wall and prevent new Muslims from coming into the United States. While Trump called the ban temporary, and stated that he only wanted it in place until a better screening process could be implemented, many felt as though he was taking it too far. It seemed like certain people changed their mind and agreed with his stance after the Orlando massacre, though.
As reported by the Independent Journal , Trump gained closed to four points on Clinton last week. While it could have been normal fluctuations, an event like the Orlando massacre, which is viewed as a terrorist attack by many people, often helps Republicans gain support. Whether or not the attack was radical Islamic terrorism is up for debate, but the fact that President Barack Obama refused to use the phrase rubbed many people the wrong way.
While Clinton had been reluctant to use the phrase in the past, she told CNN after the Orlando massacre that she has no issues saying it. Since one of Trump’s biggest tactics has been claiming that Democrats, notably Obama and Clinton, refuse to properly name and fight terrorism, he is losing one of his weapons.
Poll: Clinton widens lead over Trump to 14 points https://t.co/bbIR03NY9e pic.twitter.com/ktgHYqu68d
— The Hill (@thehill) June 25, 2016
With Clinton’s lead increasing, it appears as though Trump is backing off of his call to have all Muslims temporarily banned from entering the United States. As the Washington Post reports, Trump was asked about how he felt if a Muslim came to the United States from Scotland, a country that does not have heavy terrorism.
“During one of four stops along the 18-hole course, a reporter asked Trump if he would be okay with a Muslim from Scotland coming into the United States and he said it ‘wouldn’t bother me.’ Afterward, Hicks said in an email that Trump’s ban would now just apply to Muslims in terror states, but she would not confirm that the ban would not apply to non-Muslims from those countries or to Muslims living in peaceful countries.”
Whether or not this is what Trump meant the entire time is unknown, but he did not previously explicitly state that Muslims living in countries without terrorism would be allowed to enter the United States. If Trump has any hope of catching Clinton, he is going to have to tone down some of his extreme views. While fighting terrorism and enforcing the laws of the United States is important, he needs to do it in a way that does not offend large groups of people.
Trump was hoping to capture some of Bernie Sanders’ supporters, but it appears as though that is not going to happen. Not only are most of Sanders’ supporters not going to vote for Trump, but Bernie is not going to either, as CNBC reports.
“The senator from Vermont replied ‘yes’ when asked on MSNBC if he would vote for Clinton.”
With Donald Trump’s boost in the polls after the Orlando massacre only proving to be temporary, Hillary Clinton’s lead could continue to increase as November approaches.
[Photo by Sara D. Davis/Getty Images]
