New Poll: Support for Trump has Plummetted

Based on comments I see on Facebook posted by friends and/or acquaintances, I remain dumbfounded by how out of touch many Americans seem to be when it comes to common sense or putting logic and reason over supporting someone who gives license to indulge in one's prejudices.  One such person even posted a photo of Chimperator George W. Bush with the caption "I miss having a president who pray."  Bush may have prayed often, but he consistently got the wrong answer and took America from one disaster to another. - one of the downsides in basing actions on myths and legends rather than facts and reason.  Personally, I prefer as more accurate the one where a picture of Bus is accompanied by the phrase "like a rock, only dumber." With the 2016 presidential campaign in near full swing, and Britain wracked by economic upheaval due to a vote that put feelings and bigotry above logic and reason, one can only hope that a new poll is an indication that Americans are not inclined to follow the mistake made by Britain.  As the Washington Post reports, support for Trump is falling.  Let's hoe the trend continues and accelerates.  Here are article highlights:

Donald Trump returns to the campaign trail from Scotland this week contending with sweeping unease about his candidacy as a large majority of Americans register their disapproval and see the Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee as discriminatory and unqualified, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Following a month of self­-inflicted controversies, the survey shows that support for Trump is plunging, including among fellow Republicans, propelling Democrat Hillary Clinton to a double-digit lead nationally. The poll reveals fresh doubts about Trump within his own party just three weeks before Republicans convene in Cleveland for their national convention.

The survey finds broad objections to Trump’s candidacy — from his incendiary rhetoric and values to his handling of both terrorism and his own business — foreshadowing that the November election could be a referendum on Trump more than anything else.

Roughly 2 in 3 Americans say that they think Trump is unqualified to lead the nation; are anxious about the idea of him as president; believe his comments about women, minorities and Muslims show an unfair bias; and consider his attacks on a federal judge because of his Mexican American heritage to be racist.

[I]n a head-to-head general election matchup, Clinton leads Trump 51 percent to 39 percent among registered voters nationwide, the poll found. This is Clinton’s largest lead in Post-ABC polling since last fall and a dramatic reversal from last month’s survey, which found the race nearly even, with Trump at 46 percent and Clinton at 44 percent.

Fifty-six percent of the public at large say the celebrity business mogul stands against their beliefs, while 64 percent say he does not have the necessary credentials to be president. Fifty-six percent feel strongly that he is unqualified.

Nearly one-third of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say Trump is unqualified for office, and 18 percent say he does not represent their beliefs, exposing fissures in the GOP base.

The poll . . . . showed Obama’s approval rating at 56 percent — its highest level in Post polling since May 2011, after the killing of Osama bin Laden.

Obama is more popular now than Republicans George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush in the waning months of their presidencies. Although Obama’s approval rating has not reached the level of former Democratic president Bill Clinton’s in 2000, his standing suggests that he could be a relatively effective surrogate for Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail.

And there is evidence in the poll that Trump is pushing some GOP voters out of the fold. Just 69 percent of self-identified Republicans who supported a candidate other than Trump in the primary say they now support Trump; 13 percent say they back Clinton, while 11 percent volunteer “neither.”  There is also little evidence that Trump is winning over Democratic primary voters.

With such broad public dis­approval of Trump’s controversial comments, Republican elected officials have awkwardly tiptoed around their probable nominee. The poll finds that 62 percent of Republican-leaning voters want GOP leaders to speak out against Trump when they disagree with his views, while 35 percent think they should avoid criticizing him.

Although Trump leads Clinton among white voters overall, 50 percent to 40 percent, he trails her badly among nonwhite voters, 77 percent to 15 percent. His is the smallest Republican advantage with whites for a Republican presidential candidate since 1996, when Bob Dole lost to Bill Clinton.

Trump is utterly unfit for the presidency and I sincerely hope that Clinton continues the series of attack ads that underscore this simple reality.   With Virginia being a "battle ground state" we are seeing plenty of Hillary ads and they are very well done.