Support up sixfold since May but McCain furore still to play out
Tale of two men
Businessman Donald Trump surged into the lead for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, with almost twice the support of his closest rival, in the midst of the controversy over disparaging remarks about Senator John McCain’s Vietnam War service.
Support for Trump in a new Washington Post-ABC News poll fell sharply on the one night voters were surveyed following those comments. Most calls were completed before the news about the remarks was widely reported.
Although the sample size for the final day was small, the decline was statistically significant. Still, it is difficult to predict what could happen to Trump’s support in the coming days and weeks as the controversy plays out.
McCain, the former Republican presidential candidate, yesterday called on Trump to apologise to United States military families after the property billionaire said the decorated Vietnam veteran was not a war hero because he was captured. McCain brushed off the insult, but said that Trump must apologise to veterans who had deluged his office with supportive calls.
“There are so many men and some women who served and sacrificed and happened to be held prisoner,” McCain said. “Somehow to denigrate that in any way is offensive, I think, to most of our veterans.”
Trump has declined to apologise to McCain, 78, who was shot down over Vietnam and held captive for more than five years. He was tortured and refused the chance of early release until men captured ahead of him were freed. He was awarded a John McCain McCain’s plane was shot down over Hanoi during his 23rd bombing mission. As a captive, McCain suffered from malnourishment, disease, and a number of gruesome wounds. In 1968 McCain was able to teach himself how to walk again, after sustaining numerous broken bones during his crash landing and torture. McCain returned to America in 1973. He became a senator and won the Republican nomination in 2008 before losing to Barack Obama. Donald Trump While McCain was flying, Trump was studying the real estate business at Pennsylvania University. He avoided conscription through student deferments, as well as a medical deferment for a bone spur in his foot. When McCain was jailed, Trump was at an Ivy League University and later in exclusive Manhattan nightclubs. By the time he graduated in 1968, Trump says he had earned US$200,000 working for his father’s real estate company. Trump would accumulate an estimated net worth of US$4 billion (he places the figure far higher). — Telegraph Group Ltd Silver Star, a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart for his bravery.
Trump was the favourite of 24 per cent of registered Republicans and Republican-leaning independents. That is the highest percentage and biggest lead recorded by any Republican candidate this year in Post-ABC News polls and marks a sixfold increase in his support since late May.
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, who announced his candidacy a week ago, is in second place at 13 per cent, followed by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush at 12 per cent.
The first Republican debate will be held on August 7 in Cleveland.
In the contest for the Democratic nomination, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton maintains a wide lead, with 68 per cent of registered Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents saying they would vote for her today in a caucus or primary. Senator Bernie Sanders is second, at 16 per cent.
Trump does far better among those who are not college graduates than among those who are. His support among men and women is about the same.
His views on immigration are not widely shared. Just 16 per cent of Americans say that undocumented immigrants from Mexico are mainly “undesirable people like criminals”, while 74 per cent say they are mainly “honest people trying to get ahead.”
There is clear resistance to his candidacy within the party. A majority (54 per cent) say his views do not reflect the core values of the Republican Party. If Trump were to receive the Republican nomination, 62 per cent of Americans say they definitely would not consider voting for him.