Throwing the Republican establishment into chaos, 69-year-old real estate tycoon and former reality TV-star Donald Trump got more good news today with a CNN/ORC poll showing him lapping his nearest rival Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), 39% to 18%. What disturbs the media, Republicans National Committee and Democratic National Committee so greatly is Trump’s uncanny endurance, withstanding the RNC and DNC’s most vicious attacks. Joining forces to defeat Trump, the RNC and DNC have hit Trump with everything but the kitchen sink, most recently insisting the former NBC ‘s “Celebrity Apprentice” star compromised U.S. national security serving as the poster-boy for ISIS recruitment. Polling at under 5%, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has desperately called Trump every name in the book, including the “chaos candidate,” hoping to gain traction in his failing campaign.
CNN’ORC’s recent poll comes on the heals of the DNC’s most vicious assault yet on Trump for daring to call out Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton for taking and extra-long bathroom break in the Dec. 19 ABC debate, referring to Clinton’s 2008 defeat in the Democratic primairies as getting “schlonged” by Obama. Hillary’s pollsters want no part of Trump in a general election, joining the mainstream media and RNC in attacking Trump. Hillary spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri called Trump’s remarks about Hillary’s bathroom break and losing to Obama “degrading” to women. “We are not responding to Trump but everyone who understands the humiliation this degrading language inflicts on women should,” Palmieri. CNN/ORC’s recent poll shows that all the RNC, DNC and media’s attacks have bounced off Trump’s back, making him the 2016 Teflon candidate.
No one in either political party or mainstream media is willing to concede that Trump has any shot at winning the GOP nomination. Jeb insists he’s going to make a dramatic comeback once voting begins, tossing all logic—and polls—to the wind. Other GOP candidates, like New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, polling, like Bush at around 5%, hopes to turn things around in Iowa or New Hampshire. Ignoring the polls–and reality—is the only way failing GOP candidates can keep a smile on their face before their campaigns end. When Trump presents himself on the stage with other candidates, there’s a stark contrast, looking far more poised, in charge and energetic. Trump’s bigger-than-life personality, no matter how obnoxious to some, eclipses the others, making them look weak and inconsequential. No one in the GOP field, other than Trump, dominates the media and news cycle.
Wherever Trump goes, whatever he says, it’s covered by the media. Bush’s recent attacks on Trump make him look so weak, whiny and desperate, that it’s hurt what’s left of his failing campaign. Bush’s big donors, that gave him over $100 million, thought he was the GOP’s shoe-in candidate. Voters in 2016 seek something new, certainly not a throwback to the last Bush administration where the economy collapsed into the Great Recession. Jeb likes to rip Obama’s economy but, when compared to his brother, former President George W. Bush’s, it’s like Shangri-La. All GOP candidates have difficulty making the case against the Obama economy when all published metrics, including the Federal Reserve Board, Labor and Commerce Departments, show the economy rolling along. Fed Chairman Janet Yellen’s Dec. 16 rate hike signaled that the economy continues to improve.
Bad news for the GOP field, CNN/ORC’s new poll shows that Republicans believe Trump is best handling the economy [57%], illegal immigration [56%] and dealing with the terror group ISIS [47%], but, more importantly, that he’s got the best shot of taking the White House in 2016 [46%]. With 13 other GOP candidates in the race, those margins are enormous. As candidates drop out after Iowa and New Hampshire, it’s reasonable to expect Trump’s numbers expanding.. Both political parties, and the mainstream media, have no answer for Trump’s appeal to voters in 2016. Tired to the same-old, same-old, voters have finally put their feet down and said they want something different. Whether it’s in the GOP or Democratic Party, it’s going to be a tough sell that old-school politicians, like Hillary or Jeb, can mend fences and create the consensus needed to end Washington’s gridlock.
Eclipsed by Trump’s stature and charisma, the rest of the GOP field—and media—can only sit back and wait to see what happens when voting starts. Drawing the biggest crowds by far and most media attention, Trump shows why his candidacy has caught on with so many voters, disgusted by Washington’s politics-as-usual. While the public’s only partially caught up, the polls spell trouble for Hillary, whose old-school campaign must convince independent voters that she can get anything done with a Republican House and Senate. Trump offers voters the possibility of something new, hopeful and optimistic. Connecting to large groups on the campaign trail, Trump speaks off-the-cuff, avoiding teleprompters and predigested talking points. While painted as the “outsider” candidate, voters don’t believe the successful real estate tycoon is really that far from the mainstream.
