Face it: Trump’s the true GOP favorite now
BY JONATHAN ALLEN
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Sunday, December 20, 2015, 5:00 AM
There’s something the chattering classes along the Acela Corridor don’t want to say about Donald Trump: He’s the overwhelming favorite to win the Republican presidential nomination.
For the Republican Party’s conservative — in more ways than one — establishment, it’s as if admitting that will make it come true. So instead, they squabble over who the “real” front-runner is, whether it’s Marco Rubio or Ted Cruz. Perhaps, the parlor wisdom holds, a dark horse like Chris Christie can overtake the field at the New Hampshire turn.
For the first few months, the Trump deniers — loud on national television, insistent on Twitter and ever-present in the nation’s leading print and digital outlets — could be called wishful thinkers. With the primaries just around the corner, as many otherwise smart political analysts keep waiting, aching, for conventional order to be restored, it’s time to call them what they are: delusional.
Trump is leading national polls by more than 20 points in a field with more than a dozen candidates. Nor is this just a Rudy Giuliani-style lead that doesn’t translate to state contests.
He’s sitting on a double-digit lead in New Hampshire, holds a 20-point edge in South Carolina and runs 27 points ahead of his nearest competitor in Georgia. Though he’s probably going to lose Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucus to Cruz, who’s leading in the polls there, Trump could finish a strong second.
He’s first or near it in Nevada, Florida, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Missouri and Ohio. He’s in the lead in nearly every state that has been polled. All those leads have held up after a dozen predicted collapses.
To anyone looking honestly at the hard numbers, Trump’s lead in the Republican primary looks a lot like Hillary Clinton’s in the Democratic primary. And no one is debating who will “really win” on the Democratic side.
The early theories of Trump’s impending demise (some of which I once subscribed to) have, one by one, fallen apart: He’ll implode by offending someone, he’ll top out at 25% or the establishment vote will coalesce around Rubio or another candidate.
One of the few remaining wishful notions is that Trump will be pierced by losing Iowa and fade when supporters realize he’s not the winner he claims to be.
Could it happen? Sure. It’s within the realm of possibility that, after telling pollsters The Donald is the one, voters will pick other candidates when they go to the real polls. The anti-Trump vote could consolidate early enough to deny him plurality victories in winner-take-all primary states.
But both those scenarios get less and less likely with each passing week as Trump and his supporters see that the brass ring is really in reach.
The funniest, saddest theory out there is that Trump — who has been at this more than six months, shows no sign of tiring and clearly craves the limelight, and power — could get so bored of campaigning one day that he exits the race as abruptly as he took command of it. Yeah, and he could replace Tom Brady at quarterback in the Patriots’ first playoff game.
Instead of continuing to fool themselves, Republican pundits should school themselves in what is going on here. Like the last two Republicans who seized the White House from Democratic control, Trump paints in bold, bright colors. He exudes an almost impossible confidence. And he’s speaking directly to deep anxieties and resentments among GOP voters.
That has proven to be a potent combination among an anxious, Obama-weary electorate.
It’s understandable that Republican elites are mortified. A guy they can’t control is taking dead aim at many party orthodoxies, and profiting in the process. A few months ago, GOP insiders regarded a brokered convention as a nightmare. Now, to many, it’s more like a daydream.
Trump is currently far better positioned to win the nomination than any other candidate. GOP leaders, and the pundits who repeat their arguments, can dance around that fact all they want. But they can no longer credibly deny it.
Allen is co-author of the New York Times bestseller “HRC: State Secrets and the Rebirth of Hillary Clinton.” He is currently working on a book about the 2016 election.
It's a very Trump Christmas
Donald Trump may be getting the best gift of all this holiday season, as he enters 2016 firmly on top in the Republican race for the White House.
The GOP presidential hopeful has proved the doubters wrong, solidifying a double-digit lead in national polls while running one of the most unorthodox campaigns in history.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) — who has seen his support plunge amid Trump’s rise — predicted at a private Dallas fundraiser in mid-November that Trump would falter by the next GOP debate.“Come December 15, Trump will be in decline,” Bush reportedly said.
But on the eve of Christmas, Trump still tops the Republican field by 17 points, even as Bush lags behind in the single digits.
“He’s obviously been able to defy political gravity for much of this campaign,” GOP strategist Matt Mackowiak said, noting Trump’s advantages of being a celebrity and attracting heavy media coverage.
The latest national polls confirm that Trump’s momentum isn’t slowing down. Within the past week, the real estate mogul:
• topped the field in a post-debate survey from Public Policy Polling, increasing his lead by 8 points;
• bested the second-place finisher by 4 points in a Quinnipiac University poll;
• and opened up a 21-point lead in a CNN/ORC International poll.
Trump frequently boasts about his poll numbers on Twitter, using them to fight back against a media he says is biased against his candidacy.
The poll numbers highlight how Trump has displaced President Obama as the central player on the political stage, with both parties reacting daily to his insults, tweets and attack lines.
His dominance is something few political observers would have predicted back on Jun. 15, when he entered the presidential race with a rambling launch speech that some people were allegedlypaid to attend.
But Trump quickly gained momentum during the summer, with tens of thousands of people flocking to his rallies to hear how he planned to “make America great again” by deporting illegal immigrants and taking on China.
And even as he’s fired up crowds, the businessman and former reality television star has courted controversy at every turn, creating a steady stream of conflict that has kept his name in the headlines.
Conventional wisdom held that the political storms generated by Trump — most recently from his call to temporarily ban most Muslims from entering the United States — would be fatal to his candidacy.
Yet six months after his entry in the race, Trump sits atop national polls with 35.1 percent support, according to the latest RealClearPolitics average.
His unwavering dominance has stirred anxiety among establishment Republicans, who fear the businessman would be a disastrous nominee.
But while some in the GOP have spoken out against Trump, it has had little impact.
Trump’s lead in the race has become so entrenched that it has allowed him to turn his attention from rival candidates to Hillary Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic nomination.
Still, there are signs that Trump’s closest GOP rival, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), is gaining ground.
Cruz even leads Trump in Iowa, which will hold the first presidential contest of the year, on Feb. 1. A RealClearPolitics average of Iowa GOP polls shows Cruz narrowly edging out Trump by 4 percentage points in the caucus state.
Craig Robin*son, a former polit*ic*al dir*ect*or for the Iowa GOP, said Trump has the ability to turn out the tens of thousands needed to win the caucuses. That grassroots fervor could be tough for Cruz to compete with, he said.
“Voting for Trump is going to be a protest vote just like Ron Paul,” Robinson said.
“Trump could completely underperform or overperform," he continued. “I don’t know if Cruz has anything in their arsenal that can deal with the Trump campaign that is bringing new people to the process.”
But he noted the possibility of a dark-horse candidate emerging in the caucuses, such as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie or the last two Iowa caucus winners, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.).
Should Trump lose Iowa, he will be counting on the next state in line, New Hampshire, to keep his candidacy on track.
Trump has dominated in polls of New Hampshire for months, even as rival candidates such as Bush and Christie have campaigned heavily there.
In the final stretch before the first ballots are cast, the upcoming GOP debate on Jan. 14 could prove crucial, said Mackowiak, who also writes for The Hill's Contributors blog.
“That debate may impact results in Iowa and New Hampshire and start that narrowing of the field,” Mackowiak said. He said the big question for Trump would be getting his supporters to the polls.
“In a way, he’s playing a short-term game,” Mackowiak said.
http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/264162-its-a-very-trump-christmas
Donald Trump may be getting the best gift of all this holiday season, as he enters 2016 firmly on top in the Republican race for the White House.
The GOP presidential hopeful has proved the doubters wrong, solidifying a double-digit lead in national polls while running one of the most unorthodox campaigns in history.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) — who has seen his support plunge amid Trump’s rise — predicted at a private Dallas fundraiser in mid-November that Trump would falter by the next GOP debate.“Come December 15, Trump will be in decline,” Bush reportedly said.
But on the eve of Christmas, Trump still tops the Republican field by 17 points, even as Bush lags behind in the single digits.
“He’s obviously been able to defy political gravity for much of this campaign,” GOP strategist Matt Mackowiak said, noting Trump’s advantages of being a celebrity and attracting heavy media coverage.
The latest national polls confirm that Trump’s momentum isn’t slowing down. Within the past week, the real estate mogul:
• topped the field in a post-debate survey from Public Policy Polling, increasing his lead by 8 points;
• bested the second-place finisher by 4 points in a Quinnipiac University poll;
• and opened up a 21-point lead in a CNN/ORC International poll.
Trump frequently boasts about his poll numbers on Twitter, using them to fight back against a media he says is biased against his candidacy.
The poll numbers highlight how Trump has displaced President Obama as the central player on the political stage, with both parties reacting daily to his insults, tweets and attack lines.
His dominance is something few political observers would have predicted back on Jun. 15, when he entered the presidential race with a rambling launch speech that some people were allegedlypaid to attend.
But Trump quickly gained momentum during the summer, with tens of thousands of people flocking to his rallies to hear how he planned to “make America great again” by deporting illegal immigrants and taking on China.
And even as he’s fired up crowds, the businessman and former reality television star has courted controversy at every turn, creating a steady stream of conflict that has kept his name in the headlines.
Conventional wisdom held that the political storms generated by Trump — most recently from his call to temporarily ban most Muslims from entering the United States — would be fatal to his candidacy.
Yet six months after his entry in the race, Trump sits atop national polls with 35.1 percent support, according to the latest RealClearPolitics average.
His unwavering dominance has stirred anxiety among establishment Republicans, who fear the businessman would be a disastrous nominee.
But while some in the GOP have spoken out against Trump, it has had little impact.
Trump’s lead in the race has become so entrenched that it has allowed him to turn his attention from rival candidates to Hillary Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic nomination.
Still, there are signs that Trump’s closest GOP rival, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), is gaining ground.
Cruz even leads Trump in Iowa, which will hold the first presidential contest of the year, on Feb. 1. A RealClearPolitics average of Iowa GOP polls shows Cruz narrowly edging out Trump by 4 percentage points in the caucus state.
Craig Robin*son, a former polit*ic*al dir*ect*or for the Iowa GOP, said Trump has the ability to turn out the tens of thousands needed to win the caucuses. That grassroots fervor could be tough for Cruz to compete with, he said.
“Voting for Trump is going to be a protest vote just like Ron Paul,” Robinson said.
“Trump could completely underperform or overperform," he continued. “I don’t know if Cruz has anything in their arsenal that can deal with the Trump campaign that is bringing new people to the process.”
But he noted the possibility of a dark-horse candidate emerging in the caucuses, such as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie or the last two Iowa caucus winners, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.).
Should Trump lose Iowa, he will be counting on the next state in line, New Hampshire, to keep his candidacy on track.
Trump has dominated in polls of New Hampshire for months, even as rival candidates such as Bush and Christie have campaigned heavily there.
In the final stretch before the first ballots are cast, the upcoming GOP debate on Jan. 14 could prove crucial, said Mackowiak, who also writes for The Hill's Contributors blog.
“That debate may impact results in Iowa and New Hampshire and start that narrowing of the field,” Mackowiak said. He said the big question for Trump would be getting his supporters to the polls.
“In a way, he’s playing a short-term game,” Mackowiak said.
http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/264162-its-a-very-trump-christmas
The most amazing thing about Trump is how little money he's spent to position himself as the dominating front runner. No massive army of consultants and volunteers filling expensive campaign offices trying to smash through politically correct gaystream media narratives.
The gaystream media:
Donald Trump Strategy using Twitter:
The gaystream media:
Donald Trump Strategy using Twitter:
If you are still confused over why Donald Trump is wiping the floor with his competition in the Republican field, a tweet fired off by the billionaire businessman Wednesday morning should answer that. With the help of her numerous DC Media allies, Hillary Clinton has been attacking Trump all week with the phony claim that his use of the word “schlonging” is degrading to all women. In response, Trump put Hillary (and her media) on notice:
Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump
The Hillary Clinton staged event yesterday was pathetic. Be careful Hillary as you play the war on women or women being degraded card.
6:20 AM - 23 Dec 2015
There is no question as to what Trump is referring to. For going on fifty years, Hillary has protected her husband, former-President Bill Clinton, an accused rapist, groper, and serial-sexual harasser. The women who claim to be his victims have also accused Hillary of being part of the campaigns to personally denigrate, silence and destroy them. There is more here than just accusations and rumor. Bill Clinton was forced to settle a sexual harassment suit with Paula Jones.
Trump is a master of media manipulation, primarily because he knows exactly how the media operates, how in 2012 the DC Media was fully onboard with the Obama campaign’s phony “War on Women” crusade.
Trump also knows that when it comes to Hillary’s sordid past involving her own role in personally destroying Bill’s alleged victims — including Juanita Broaddrick, who to this day stands by her claim that Bill raped her, the DC media intends to make that criticism off limits.
Trump is a chess master. Hillary is a checkers amateur.
Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump
The Hillary Clinton staged event yesterday was pathetic. Be careful Hillary as you play the war on women or women being degraded card.
6:20 AM - 23 Dec 2015
There is no question as to what Trump is referring to. For going on fifty years, Hillary has protected her husband, former-President Bill Clinton, an accused rapist, groper, and serial-sexual harasser. The women who claim to be his victims have also accused Hillary of being part of the campaigns to personally denigrate, silence and destroy them. There is more here than just accusations and rumor. Bill Clinton was forced to settle a sexual harassment suit with Paula Jones.
Trump is a master of media manipulation, primarily because he knows exactly how the media operates, how in 2012 the DC Media was fully onboard with the Obama campaign’s phony “War on Women” crusade.
Trump also knows that when it comes to Hillary’s sordid past involving her own role in personally destroying Bill’s alleged victims — including Juanita Broaddrick, who to this day stands by her claim that Bill raped her, the DC media intends to make that criticism off limits.
Trump is a chess master. Hillary is a checkers amateur.
Hillary set out to personally destroy a 20 year old intern with lies, and she blamed her political adversaries for staging the 20 year old intern, yet another lie
another great example of how pure scum rolls, but what difference does it make? vitterd's, crack whores and pauls don't give a shit, she's their gal
Yeah....and while trump insults every group that isn't just like him.....you guys clap like seals. Then you'll wonder why Election Day is another slaughter for conservative thinking.
one of these days a light bulb will go off......and you'll realize that it isn't poor people rejecting your ideals......it's everybody but those in the bubble.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter...a-vu_b_8873946.html?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592
Peter D. Rosenstein Become a fanPrincipal in PDR and Associates
Americans Won't Elect a Vulgar/Bullying Blowhard
Posted: 12/24/2015 10:41 am EST Updated: 5 hours ago
The American people won't elect a vulgar/bullying/blowhard for President even if the ultra-right wing of the Republican Party manages to nominate him. We have never before seen the kind of campaign we are seeing this year within the Republican Party. All their chickens are coming home to roost. The worst excesses and policies of those running as Tea Party candidates in the past few years are combined in the two leading candidates, Donald Trump and Canadian born Rafael 'Ted' Cruz.Trump and Cruz are espousing policies and positions appealing to the worst instincts in our nation in an effort to heighten people's fears over terrorism and the economy. They are playing to existing racism and the intolerance of the religious right in America. They think nothing of lying to excite a crowd or gain a vote.Trump is speaking to the least educated in the nation. Cruz is speaking to them and evangelical voters consciously displaying a total lack of respect for our founding fathers who understood what they were doing when they opted for a clear separation of church and state. They understood people came to America to escape religious persecution and to be allowed to practice religion, or not practice it, as they saw fit and not have government pass laws favoring the beliefs of one religion over another.The founding fathers, all white men, did leave things out of our constitution and some were added with the Bill of Rights. We just celebrated the 224th Anniversary of its ratification. Because some were and represented slave owners it wasn't until the civil war was fought that between 1865 and 1870 the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth amendments were passed giving African Americans their rights. It wasn't until 1920 with the ratification of the nineteenth amendment women got the right to vote. We have yet to pass the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to fully include women in the constitution. But change does come, even if much too slowly, because the majority of American people are decent and with the right leadership eventually overcome their fears and biases to do the right thing.Trump and Cruz campaign on the premise they can turn back the progress we have made and it could happen. They could appoint arch-conservative Supreme Court Justices and reverse decisions including Roe v. Wade legalizing abortion, Obergefell v. Hodges legalizing same-sex marriage, and a host of others like The National Federation of Independent Business et. al. v Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services et. al. declaring the Affordable Care Act constitutional.Trump has called for building a wall to keep out Mexicans and for deporting eleven million undocumented immigrants, most who came here to make a better life for themselves and their families. He would close our borders to Muslims, supports registering those here now and sending government informants into mosques. His recent vulgar attack against Clinton was considered obscene enough that many media outlets bleeped it out. He sounds like he is adopting fascism and the views of Mussolini. Ted Cruz, the current reincarnation of Senator Joseph McCarthy (R-WI) who conducted the witch-hunt for communists and homosexuals in government, said he will reverse laws on same-sex marriage; approves building the wall to keep out Mexicans and opposes any pathway to citizenship for the eleven million immigrants here now. He refuses to call Trump to task for any vulgarity or race baiting and opposes equal pay for equal work for women. He opposes any controls on the sale of guns including assault weapons. He regrets his vote for Chief Justice John Roberts because he voted that the Affordable Care Act was constitutional allowing millions of Americans to get healthcare. He supported shutting down the entire government because of a small allocation for Planned Parenthood which works to protect women's health.These are the two men leading in all polls for the Republican nomination. None of the other men running, with the exception of Jeb Bush and only because he is in a personal feud with Trump, is saying anything against the policies or positions they support. As an American who cares about the rights of people and the future of our nation, I believe it is imperative the positions and irrational bluster of Trump and Cruz be defeated so soundly they are seen to be fully repudiated.The only person running with the qualifications to be President; the person with the experience, knowledge and intelligence to lead our nation and the world; the person whose election would make real the goal of our constitution to form 'a more perfect union' is Hillary Rodham Clinton. When the dust settles and the nominees of both Parties are chosen; Democrats, Independents and even moderate Republicans will understand what is at stake in this election. They will support Hillary Rodham Clinton because she is best able to lead us into a better future.
Americans Won't Elect a Vulgar/Bullying Blowhard
Posted: 12/24/2015 10:41 am EST Updated: 5 hours ago
The American people won't elect a vulgar/bullying/blowhard for President even if the ultra-right wing of the Republican Party manages to nominate him. We have never before seen the kind of campaign we are seeing this year within the Republican Party. All their chickens are coming home to roost. The worst excesses and policies of those running as Tea Party candidates in the past few years are combined in the two leading candidates, Donald Trump and Canadian born Rafael 'Ted' Cruz.Trump and Cruz are espousing policies and positions appealing to the worst instincts in our nation in an effort to heighten people's fears over terrorism and the economy. They are playing to existing racism and the intolerance of the religious right in America. They think nothing of lying to excite a crowd or gain a vote.Trump is speaking to the least educated in the nation. Cruz is speaking to them and evangelical voters consciously displaying a total lack of respect for our founding fathers who understood what they were doing when they opted for a clear separation of church and state. They understood people came to America to escape religious persecution and to be allowed to practice religion, or not practice it, as they saw fit and not have government pass laws favoring the beliefs of one religion over another.The founding fathers, all white men, did leave things out of our constitution and some were added with the Bill of Rights. We just celebrated the 224th Anniversary of its ratification. Because some were and represented slave owners it wasn't until the civil war was fought that between 1865 and 1870 the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth amendments were passed giving African Americans their rights. It wasn't until 1920 with the ratification of the nineteenth amendment women got the right to vote. We have yet to pass the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to fully include women in the constitution. But change does come, even if much too slowly, because the majority of American people are decent and with the right leadership eventually overcome their fears and biases to do the right thing.Trump and Cruz campaign on the premise they can turn back the progress we have made and it could happen. They could appoint arch-conservative Supreme Court Justices and reverse decisions including Roe v. Wade legalizing abortion, Obergefell v. Hodges legalizing same-sex marriage, and a host of others like The National Federation of Independent Business et. al. v Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services et. al. declaring the Affordable Care Act constitutional.Trump has called for building a wall to keep out Mexicans and for deporting eleven million undocumented immigrants, most who came here to make a better life for themselves and their families. He would close our borders to Muslims, supports registering those here now and sending government informants into mosques. His recent vulgar attack against Clinton was considered obscene enough that many media outlets bleeped it out. He sounds like he is adopting fascism and the views of Mussolini. Ted Cruz, the current reincarnation of Senator Joseph McCarthy (R-WI) who conducted the witch-hunt for communists and homosexuals in government, said he will reverse laws on same-sex marriage; approves building the wall to keep out Mexicans and opposes any pathway to citizenship for the eleven million immigrants here now. He refuses to call Trump to task for any vulgarity or race baiting and opposes equal pay for equal work for women. He opposes any controls on the sale of guns including assault weapons. He regrets his vote for Chief Justice John Roberts because he voted that the Affordable Care Act was constitutional allowing millions of Americans to get healthcare. He supported shutting down the entire government because of a small allocation for Planned Parenthood which works to protect women's health.These are the two men leading in all polls for the Republican nomination. None of the other men running, with the exception of Jeb Bush and only because he is in a personal feud with Trump, is saying anything against the policies or positions they support. As an American who cares about the rights of people and the future of our nation, I believe it is imperative the positions and irrational bluster of Trump and Cruz be defeated so soundly they are seen to be fully repudiated.The only person running with the qualifications to be President; the person with the experience, knowledge and intelligence to lead our nation and the world; the person whose election would make real the goal of our constitution to form 'a more perfect union' is Hillary Rodham Clinton. When the dust settles and the nominees of both Parties are chosen; Democrats, Independents and even moderate Republicans will understand what is at stake in this election. They will support Hillary Rodham Clinton because she is best able to lead us into a better future.
[h=1]Trump pulls into statistical tie with Hillary as her lead over Bernie shrinks from 28 points to just 16 and Democrats suffer from 2016 election enthusiasm gap[/h]
PUBLISHED: 15:36, 24 December 2015 | UPDATED: 18:02, 24 December 2015
Donald Trump is in a statistical tie with Hillary Clinton in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup as the former first lady and secretary of state sees her lead in the Democratic presidential primary slowly evaporating.
Clinton once enjoyed a brief flash of world-beating dominance over Bernie Sanders in the primary fight, but that moment has passed as the margin she once enjoyed over The Donald has also shrunk.
A new CNN poll shows that her lead over the Vermont socialist senator is back to just 16 percentage points – a 50-34 spread – down from 28 just three weeks ago.
And in a slugfest with Trump, she is now just 2 points ahead in a poll whose margin of error is 3.
+7
HERE COMES DONALD: Trump's resilience and massive campaign crowds have put him in a statistical tie with Hillary Clinton when pollsters ask about a hypothetical general election battle between the two
+7
SINKING? Clinton's lead over Trump is slipping at the same time her once-dominant position over Democratic rival Bernie Sanders is also eroding week by week
NUMBERS: Hillary Clinton's lead over Bernie Sanders shrunk (left) between late November (green) and this past week (purple), but she clearly got a debate 'bounce' from Saturday (right)
Even if Clinton is a shoe-in for her party's nomination next year – an uncertain prospect given the specter of an FBI investigation into classified emails hanging over her head – Democrats are generally less enthusiastic than Republicans about voting in 2016.
CNN's polling data showed that 36 per cent of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents say they are 'extremely' enthusiastic about going to the polls next November, just 19 per cent of Americans on the Democratic side of the ledger agree.
And while one-quarter of Democrats and left-leaning independents say they are either 'not too' or 'not at all' enthusiastic about voting, that number is just 15 per cent on the political right.
Clinton did get some good news, though: She staunched her campaign's bleeding with a strong debate performance Saturday in Manchester, New Hampshire.
CNN's pollsters looked separately at the interviews they conducted before and after the debate between Clinton, Sanders and Martin O'Malley, and found that leading up to the event Sanders was trailing her by just 8 points, 45-37.
That margin exploded to 33 per cent after the debate, with Hillary cleaning Bernie's clock by a 60-27 spread.
.
- In a hypothetical matchup with Trump, Clinton is now just 2 points ahead in a poll whose margin of error is 3
- While 36 per cent of GOP voters are excited about voting, only 19 per cent of Democrats say the same thing
- Hillary is still leading Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination but that margin has shrunk from 28 points to 16 in the last three weeks
PUBLISHED: 15:36, 24 December 2015 | UPDATED: 18:02, 24 December 2015
Donald Trump is in a statistical tie with Hillary Clinton in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup as the former first lady and secretary of state sees her lead in the Democratic presidential primary slowly evaporating.
Clinton once enjoyed a brief flash of world-beating dominance over Bernie Sanders in the primary fight, but that moment has passed as the margin she once enjoyed over The Donald has also shrunk.
A new CNN poll shows that her lead over the Vermont socialist senator is back to just 16 percentage points – a 50-34 spread – down from 28 just three weeks ago.
And in a slugfest with Trump, she is now just 2 points ahead in a poll whose margin of error is 3.
+7
HERE COMES DONALD: Trump's resilience and massive campaign crowds have put him in a statistical tie with Hillary Clinton when pollsters ask about a hypothetical general election battle between the two
+7
SINKING? Clinton's lead over Trump is slipping at the same time her once-dominant position over Democratic rival Bernie Sanders is also eroding week by week
NUMBERS: Hillary Clinton's lead over Bernie Sanders shrunk (left) between late November (green) and this past week (purple), but she clearly got a debate 'bounce' from Saturday (right)
Even if Clinton is a shoe-in for her party's nomination next year – an uncertain prospect given the specter of an FBI investigation into classified emails hanging over her head – Democrats are generally less enthusiastic than Republicans about voting in 2016.
CNN's polling data showed that 36 per cent of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents say they are 'extremely' enthusiastic about going to the polls next November, just 19 per cent of Americans on the Democratic side of the ledger agree.
And while one-quarter of Democrats and left-leaning independents say they are either 'not too' or 'not at all' enthusiastic about voting, that number is just 15 per cent on the political right.
Clinton did get some good news, though: She staunched her campaign's bleeding with a strong debate performance Saturday in Manchester, New Hampshire.
CNN's pollsters looked separately at the interviews they conducted before and after the debate between Clinton, Sanders and Martin O'Malley, and found that leading up to the event Sanders was trailing her by just 8 points, 45-37.
That margin exploded to 33 per cent after the debate, with Hillary cleaning Bernie's clock by a 60-27 spread.
.
+7
NO EXCITEMENT ON THE LEFT: Democrats are far less motivated to vote next year than Republicans, according to CNN's pollsters at Opinion Research Corp.
+7
+PROBLEM: CNN's pollsters learned that Bernie surrendered a massive post-debate 'bounce' to Hillary on Saturday night in New Hampshire
.NIPPING: Marco Rubio (left) and Ted Cruz (right), two GOP senators, are each ahead of Clinton in imaginary general election fights because of their strong performance with independent voters
.Such snapshot moments aren't as reliable as the larger picture, though, since it's not clear how many Democrats in the network's polling sample actually saw the debate. Just 7.85 million Americans saw it on TV. But CNN focused coverage of its own poll on the apparent pre- and post-debate opinion shift, relegating the Clinton-Trump dead heat to the end of its story.
Hillary and The Donald are splitting the support of independent voters, a crucial swing bloc that politicians especially covet.
But she's trailing in general election polling matchups with Marco Rubio (by 3 points) and Ted Cruz (by 2), a pair of senators who are chasing Trump from a great distance in the GOP primary.
Like the Trump head-to-head, those gaps are within the margin of error. But Cruz and Rubio both lead Clinton by 12 points among independents.
.
That tweet sounds like a veiled threat.
The gaystream media can pretend and shield the corrupt bitch all they want. If Trump decides to make her sordid past an issue, it's going to blow up in everyone's face.
For once we have a candidate who refuses to be controlled and "fall in line" especially the last two epic RINO losers.
Be careful, Granny....be very, very careful what you say and do from his moment forward.
