National Poll: Trump Catching Up to Hillary

With Ted Cruz and John Kasich conspiring to stay out of each other’s way for the foreseeable future, a new poll from George Washington University could undermine one of the coalition’s biggest talking points: that Donald Trump cannot defeat Hillary Clinton in November. According to the survey, Hillary now has only a 3-point lead over Trump in a head-to-head matchup. The poll itself has a 3-point margin of error, meaning that the two could be in a statistical dead heat.

The poll also shows the trouble for Trump, Hillary, and Cruz: all three have unfavorability ratings above 50%. Trump’s numbers in that department are the weakest: 65% of respondents have an unfavorable view of the candidate. On the flipside, only 29% of voters have an unfavorable view of Kasich. Of course, compare the amount of coverage Kasich has had compared to everyone else.

Perhaps concerned about Trump’s growing general-election numbers, Hillary attacked him from a new vantage point on Monday. At a rally in Wilmington, Delaware, Clinton derided him as an out-of-touch billionaire.

“If you want to be president of the United States, you’ve got to get familiar with the United States. You’ve got to spend time with Americans of all sorts and backgrounds in every part of our country,” she said. “Don’t just fly that big jet in and land it and go make a big speech and insult everybody you can think of, then get on that big jet and go back to your country club house in Florida or your penthouse in New York. I don’t think that puts you in touch with what’s going on.”

This is an odd tact for Clinton to take. In fact, it highlights something she should find embarrassing: A New York billionaire/celebrity seems more like “one of us” than she does. When he talks to people at rallies all across the country, he doesn’t seem like he’s putting on an act. A major part of his appeal is that despite his wealth – which he makes no attempt to downplay – he seems like someone who gets it. She, on the other hand, often comes across like an alien trying desperately to fit in with human beings.

Worse yet, Clinton is pretty much locked in to who she is. There are no more surprises. And if there are, she won’t like them. With Trump, we’re not getting someone who consults the Conservative Checklist before he talks. Not all of his positions are pretty. But there are many Americans who would love to vote for an independent thinker, even if they don’t always agree with the thoughts. Especially since Trump is on the “right” side much more often than not.

As such, his numbers could easily improve once the primaries are over. Hillary’s, on the other hand, can only go down.