It is probably paranoid to suspect that Donald Trump, who was still a strikingly left-wing Democrat just a few years ago, is a plant whose mission is to throw to Hillary an election that Republicans otherwise would have won. But if that is the plan, it is working beautifully. Trump’s unfavorable rate among the general public is now approaching 70%:
Seven in 10 people, including close to half of Republican voters, have an unfavorable view of Trump, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll. It’s an opinion shared by majorities of men and women; young and old; conservatives, moderates and liberals; and whites, Hispanics and blacks — a devastatingly broad indictment of the [supposedly] billionaire businessman.
Even in the South, a region where Trump has won GOP primaries decisively, close to 70 percent view him unfavorably. And among whites without a college education, one of Trump’s most loyal voting blocs, 55 percent have a negative opinion.
Those who have imagined that Trump has any chance whatsoever of winning the general election are now disabused of their unwholesome fantasy:
More than 60 percent of all registered voters and 31 percent of Republicans said they definitely would not vote for Trump in the general election.
Trump’s unfavorable rate has been exceedingly high from the very beginning. Incredibly, he has managed to jack it up even higher. It has risen over 10 percentage points since mid-February.
If he were to secure the nomination, the media would take the gloves off and use every tool at its disposal to push his negatives higher still. Anybody who has spent decades looking at his cheesy face on the cover of NYC tabloids knows there will be no problem finding damaging material. But journalists won’t need to do any research. They can just ask him any rudimentary policy question, then stand back and try not to laugh as he beclowns himself.
By November, Trump’s unfavorability rate will exceed 80%. If the summer is anything like March, it might top 90%, as even glassy-eyed Branch Trumpidians sheepishly admit they have been seduced by a conman.
Trump stands to lose all 50 states, having put even Republican gimmes like Utah and Mississippi in play for Democrats. The devastation will extend down-ballot.
If Trump still has any admitted supporters after the election, they will of course bark that the senseless destruction they have wreaked is all the fault of the “Establishment.”
Maybe there is a silver lining; at least the careers of some of the shameless hacks who have irresponsibly promoted Trump may end in ignominy. The Fox News lineup and talk radio offerings will be much improved.
On tips from Torcer. Cross-posted at Moonbattery.