U.S. presidential election (30): has Trump finally gone too far?
Donald Trump has just had what pundits are calling the worst campaign week of any presidential candidate in living memory. It may be that we look back on this week as the turning point in Trump’s seemingly unstoppable march on the White House and the time when he lost the race to the relief of the world (with perhaps the exception of Russia). But he has bad weeks before. He seems to be the teflon candidate and his core support is solid.
An article in today’s “Observer” newspaper summarises the week and its current consequences:
“In a few short days, Trump managed to insult the parents of a fallen war hero, claim that Russia would not invade Ukraine (it has already done so), say his daughter should “find another company” if she were sexually harassed, joke about receiving a Purple Heart, initially refuse to endorse Paul Ryan, the highest ranking elected Republican, and even order a crying baby out of a rally.
The string of unforced errors certainly seemed to affect independent and moderate Republican voters. An NBC/ Wall Street Journal poll put Hillary Clinton at 47% and Trump at just 38%; tellingly, she had moved one point ahead among men, who usually lean away from the Democrats. An Atlanta Journal-Constitution survey even put Clinton four points ahead in Georgia, where a Democrat hasn’t won a presidential race since her husband, Bill, did in 1992.”