U.S. presidential election (14): who can stop Donald Trump?
Let us – especially non-Americans – remind ourselves of just a few of the gaffes and insults which have emanated from Donald Trump in his effort to become the Republican nominee for next year’s US presidential election.
As this article from today’s “Observer” newspaper puts it:
“First, there was the time he outraged prisoners of war by doubting the heroism of Vietnam veteran John McCain because he allowed himself to be captured. Then there was the first television debate, where he appeared to accuse Fox News moderator Megyn Kelly of asking him tough questions because she was menstruating.
As if PoWs, Fox News and women were not enemies enough, Trump has also accused Mexican immigrants to the US of being rapists, claimed that a Black Lives Matter protester who was violently ejected from a rally deserved to be “roughed up”, appeared to mock a New York Times journalist for his disability, falsely accused Muslim Americans of cheering on the 9/11 attackers, and agreed with suggestions that all such Muslims should have heir names tracked on a database.”
Yet, for four months in a row, Trump has topped the polls in assessments of the popularity of those seeking the Republican candidacy. Can he be stopped from wining the Republican crown or will the Democratic candidate have to beat him in the general election? Or could Trump become the elected leader of the global super power?
The “Observer” piece moots:
“In the battle for hearts and minds, converting Trump’s passionate supporters will be hard. To blunt his lead, another candidate would need to tap into his support base without jeopardising their own. Polling experts believe this to be unlikely, as it is hard to imagine anyone doing Trump better than Trump, let alone anyone doing Trump without sacrificing their own support.
A far more likely outcome is that Trump’s base remains solid but his relative lead slowly declines as voters coalesce around either Marco Rubio or Ted Cruz, leaving the real estate mogul from New York looking as forgotten as winners in these early states in past elections, from Pat Robertson in 1988 to Mike Huckabee in 2008.”