Is The Trump Tide Starting To Recede?

by JASmius



Cue the anti-Rasmussen social media hate storm:

Donald Trump's support has fallen by a third during the past week, amid his blustery performance at the first GOP debate and his subsequent row with Fox News and debate moderator and host Megyn Kelly over his 'blood' comments, according to a new survey by Rasmussen Reports.

Carly Fiorina appears to be the beneficiary, now nearing the top of the GOP hopefuls list. [emphasis added]

For the record, Trump still leads the meaningless (no matter who leads it) national poll, but with only 17%, with Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Miss Fiorina, Scott Walker, Ben Carson, and Ted Cruz all cloistered at or around the ten percent mark.

It seems rather appropriate that Trump's poll hemorrhaging should be to the benefit of his positional (not tempermental or character) female counterpart - i.e. businesswoman and corporate CEO - and the only member of the GOP field who can truly be said to have "won" either table of last Thursday's debate in terms of improving her standing in the race.  Suffice it to say that, though Scott Walker is my guy and will continue to be, if Carly Fiorina came out of nowhere, perhaps propelled by this first debate, to actually win the GOP nomination, I would have no difficulties or reluctance whatsoever about wholeheartedly supporting her - entirely unlike Donald Trump.

Which I suppose means we should brace ourselves for an anti-Fiorina social media hatestorm after Tea Party Trumpsters get finished with Scott Rasmussen.

Or, if this poll is any heartening indication, those TPTers that are left, anyway.


UPDATE: It isn't just Rasmussen, TPTers:



That accords with Frank Luntz's debate-night focus group results: Trump's schtick works great in thirty-second-or-less sound bites, but in bigger doses it either turns people off or wears them out.  Which seems altogether expected for what amounts to a proverbial one-note samba.  Perhaps that's why virtually every other Republican in the field has favorable numbers in the sixties and seventies, while Trump languishes at 45/37, and why Trump is starting to fade in Iowa and New Hampshire as well.

And then there's this observation:

“It appears that Donald Trump’s lead is strong so long as the number of active opponents remains above a dozen,” said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center in Boston. “If the Republican field were winnowed down to five or six candidates, Trump’s 17% probably wouldn’t be enough to win in Iowa, as polling indicates that his further growth has limitations. The long-shot candidates staying in the race help keep Trump on top — at least for now.” [emphases added]

The message ought to be clear for those, other than Miss Fiorina, who were at the "kiddie table" plus more than a few on the main stage: Get the hell out of a race you never had any business being in the first place, let the governors fight it out, and for heaven's sake, take Trump with you.

And shut off his Twitter account while you're at it.