People Aren’t Really Appreciating Just How Bad Trump’s Campaign Has Been

[Doctor Jack]

Last edited Fri Aug 5, 2016, 08:39 PM - Edit history (1)

Sure, Donald Trump had a disastrous week on the campaign trail, but at least he may have made history: Longtime political veterans say they cannot recall a candidate who has similarly and needlessly damaged himself quite so badly.

“I have been around politics for 40 years, as a journalist and a participant, and I have never seen anything like this last week,” said David Axelrod, President Barack Obama’s longtime aide and now a CNN commentator.

-snip-

“Donald Trump is Todd Akin. He is Richard Mourdock and Sharron Angle,” he said, referring to three infamous Republican Senate candidates who committed fatal verbal miscues. “But that is really not fair to Akin, Mourdock and Angle. They weren’t nuts. They had political views and others that made them unelectable. With Donald Trump, it is instability. He is an absurd candidate for president. He is a neutron bomb that has gone off in the Republican Party that is destroying anyone near him.”

Within some political quarters, there remains lingering faith that Trump still has the capacity to turn his free-fall around ― that his historically unparalleled bad week won’t leave enough lingering damage to cost him the election. But those voices are growing rarer. Trump’s poll numbers have tanked since the end of the Democratic convention, with traditionally Republican states like Georgia and Arizona looking more like pick-up opportunities for Hillary Clinton. Increasingly, there is chatter of discord within the ranks.

I think its time we begin to recognize that this isn't just a post-convention bounce for Clinton and that the race will settle into a dead heat soon. Experts from all over the political spectrum, including those watching the trends and numbers like 538, seem to think that Trump is in a death spiral and that the odds are recovery are almost non-existent. It would appear that everyone from the experts, to the media and the average voter is fully realizing that Trump is extremely unhinged. His campaign may be to the point where so much damage is occurring so quickly that it is actually become self propagating.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-campaign_us_57a4dd32e4b056bad2157ba0

[Demsrule86]

1. Excellent post.

I agree. And consider the electoral map...how hard it is for any Republican these days...and Trump is not likely to sweep.

[Curtland1015]

2. I wouldn't be shocked if the numbers level out a bit.

Nothing crazy, mind you. But if his people can shut him up and he comes off at the debate looking even VAGUELY competent, he could gain a little ground back.

There are plenty of middle-rights and independents that I'm sure are just BEGGING Trump to show them even a HINT that he's not a complete train wreck because they hate their idea of what Hillary is so much. IF he can hold it together and look almost human during the debates, I bet he could get a few points back.

But I still don't think he can win at this point.

[StraightRazor]

5. Your second point about the begging him to be less than a train wreck is a very good one...

And, though I'm not sure it's possible for him to change and 'pivot', there's been no evidence of it thus far - but if he does start to become focused those 'middle-rights and independents' will surely move toward him and make this an extremely close race because they simply cannot vote for Hillary. The bar is so low for him that if he simply manages to stay awake during the debates, some will call it a win out of sheer desperation.

This election should be completely out of reach for him, even this far out - the fact that it isn't, that he even has a snowball's chance in Hell is frightening.

[KingCharlemagne]

3. I think you have a bad link at the bottom. Seems to go back to DU - nt

[Kaleva]

4. Most every day now there is an article talking about Trump being bat-shit crazy.

[tblue37]

6. A dead heat? That means a race so close it is nearly a tie. I don't think you mean dead heat. nt

[Beartracks]

7. Interesting. "Hillary Clinton Republicans"...

I guess that's similar to the party-line-crossing voters of old that came to be known as Reagan Democrats.

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