Donald Trump surrogates are smiling so hard their cheeks are probably starting to cramp. Establishment Republicans are warming to him and business donors are starting to open their checkbooks. But is some (or most) of this excitement and unification built on a false premise?
Since Trump secured the Republican nomination, his polling has been much better; Trump boosters will tell you it’s because Republicans are uniting and the country is opening up to Trump’s message. There may be some of that, and there’s no doubt that his campaign has dramatically improved. His RealClearPolitics polling averages have improved 11 percent since March 23, 2016.
He’s now winning in the average.
But, how much of this increase is because the Democrats are still in a hotly contested election?
Certainly many Bernie Sanders supporters are saying they’ll never vote for Hillary Clinton — but will they stay hardened in their ways after another five plus months of campaigning? History shows us that when one party picks a candidate before another party does, the unified party gets a bump. Temporarily.
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04.20.2024