Donald Trump’s (R-NY) journey to becoming the presumptive Republican nominee has hardly been politics as usual. Up until now, it has worked. But the blustery and divisive Trump is now at a disadvantage when it comes to getting ready for the general election, and he has no one to blame but himself.
Trump reached the number of primary votes needed for the nomination a full month before Hillary Clinton (D-NY) did. Instead of preparing for the final push this fall, he used his time to insult minority groups and hold rallies in less than competitive states. Now that Hillary has likely clinched the Democratic nomination, she has already pivoted to campaigning in swing states and focusing on her next opponent.
In the meantime, Trump’s been calling everyone who confronts him with pesky facts a liar and making racist comments about a federal judge.
A quick look at Trump’s May travel schedule says it all. Last month Trump campaigned in eight different states: West Virginia, Nebraska, Oregon, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Montana, and California. All of those states have a known track record of being consistently red or blue during elections.
Former Mitt Romney spokesman Ryan Williams told NPR that this was not the smartest move:
“The Trump campaign starts the general election at an organizational disadvantage… This is a candidate who won by the sheer strength of his personality and bluster instead of through a well-organized campaign effort.”
Trump seems to be grasping for anything positive, giving his utter fail on foreign policy issues after the Orlando shooting and GOP higher ups losing patience with his antics. On Friday he tweeted this picture of a survey:
THANK YOU! #AmericaFirst pic.twitter.com/qp07UfnnjM
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 17, 2016
Something is a little off here… oh wait, Trump is losing by two points. But that is nothing compared to other national polls, one which has Clinton leading by 12 percent.
Ouch.
But those pesky facts aren’t dampening Trump’s enthusiasm. Charlie Black, a former John McCain staffer summed it up best:
“This guy believes he can sell ice to Eskimo… so in his mind he thinks he can win any state.”
It might be a little bit tougher than he thinks. Now he has fired his campaign manager, Trump’s belief in the power of his personality appears like a pipe dream.
Watch a clip explaining Trump’s campaign issues here:
Feature image screengrab via Youtube
