Donald Trump’s poll numbers have continued to decrease over the last few weeks. Could it be that the public has had enough of the rants, ramblings, and racism? Or is it possible that reality has set in about the four time-bankrupted real estate mogul’s inability to lead the nation?
There’s no doubt that the presumptive GOP hopeful has many supporters, and up until Saturday, “the Donald” hadn’t requested a penny from any of them. Those who are on his mailing or email lists received a surprise on Saturday — in the form of an “emergency” request for political campaign funds. The urgent need is for $100,000 to place, undoubtedly, negative campaign ads in battleground states throughout the nation. With the billions the candidate claims to have, it’s unclear why he won’t write a check to fund the remainder of the campaign.
He can’t afford to. He’s a fake billionaire.
Donald Trump Threatens to Self-Fund Campaign if GOP Support Wavers https://t.co/D1Mk5ezmRV
— andy lassner (@andylassner) June 19, 2016
With the GOP convention beginning in Cleveland next month, the Republicans will likely begin the process of nominating Trump to run against Hillary Clinton in the fall. However, if the GOP candidate’s numbers continue on the descent, he won’t win.
In the National Review , Dan McLaughlin explained the significance of poll numbers .
“National polls remain a less-than-ideal way to measure the presidential horserace, but they are often the quickest way to compare where today’s race stands to campaigns of the past. We can compare where Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton stand right now to the past 3 national campaigns. It’s not a pretty picture for Trump.”
Donald Trump’s national poll numbers over past month. (per @RealClearNews average of polls) https://t.co/ZDY9aAiyvi pic.twitter.com/vYVfBFn61b
— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) June 19, 2016
This past week, Trump stood at 38.6 percent in a national poll average taken by RealClear Politics, which was a decrease of five points in the past three weeks. However, he has never averaged above 44.3 percent. When he was just beginning in 2015, his low was 33.7 percent.
McLaughlin compared the GOP candidate to Clinton who was never below 43.2 percent, until Trump edged her out briefly on May 23, 2016. McLaughlin, a conservative, stated a presumptive nominee has not polled below 40 percent in the last three elections, and is an extremely rare occurrence.
The Washington Post noted that what’s interesting about the poll numbers is that Clinton’s have not surged as Trump’s has fallen freely. The numbers indicate that it’s not that prospective voters are switching their allegiance from one candidate to the other one; they simply have decided that they can’t or won’t vote for Trump. According to a Washington Post-ABC News poll, seven-out-of-10 voters conveyed a negative reaction to Trump.
Per the numbers in the cited poll, the Republican candidate’s unfavorable rating surpasses Clinton’s by 13 points, 69 percent to 56 percent. Both candidates are viewed as unfavorable. Trump’s negative views have risen among liberals and conservatives, including Democratic men and Republican women. His standing has also declined among independents and white Americans who don’t have a bachelor’s degree.
Notably, Trump’s favorable rating has, literally, flipped among non-college educated whites in the latest survey, added the Washington Post-ABC News poll. Neither whites without a college degree, nor independents like Trump or Clinton, so in the fall it will be interesting to see which candidate either of these key groups decide on. A relevant minority in both major parties have expressed discontent over their presumptive nominees.
Poll numbers aside, some Republican leaders have negated Trump’s complaint that the U.S. District judge presiding over the Trump University case is incapable of fairness because he is of Mexican heritage. Even House Speaker Paul Ryan has stated the allegations are racist.
[Image by Ralph Freso/Getty]
