After a coordinated DC Media attack that would have ground any other candidate into ash and dust, Donald Trump has not only held on to first place in the latest CNN national poll of GOP primary voters, he has surged +9 points to a massive +20 point lead. As of now, in a 12 person race, Trump sits at an astonishing 36%; his closest rival, Ted Cruz, jumped +12 points to 16% support.
Despite spending tens of millions of dollars on ads, Jeb Bush sunk -5 points to just 3% support.
Marco Rubio gained +4 points to earn 12%. Ben Carson lost -8 points and now sits at 14%.
Chris Christie, the man the DC Media has been hyping for two weeks, sits at just 4%. Last month he sat at just 4%. All that DC Media love didn’t bump the New Jersey governor up even 1 point.
On every crucial issue, Trump is surging and obliterates second place:
He holds massive margins over other Republicans as the candidate most trusted to handle the economy (at 55%, Trump stands 46 percentage points over his nearest competitor), the federal budget (51%, up 41 points), illegal immigration (48%, up 34 points), ISIS (46%, up 31 points) and foreign policy (30%, up 13 points). …
Among those Republican voters who call the economy extremely important, for example, 60% say they trust Trump to handle that issue. Among immigration voters, 55% trust Trump on the issue. On foreign policy, Trump inches up to 32%, and among those who call terrorism an extremely important issue, 49% say they trust Trump most on ISIS. …
More generally, about 4 in 10 Republicans say Trump is the candidate who would be most effective at solving the country’s problems (42% name Trump, 14% Carson, 12% Cruz, 10% Rubio) and could best handle the responsibilities of being commander-in-chief (37% Trump, 16% Cruz, 11% Carson and 10% Rubio).
On what might be the most important question in a presidential primary poll, a whopping 52% of primary voters believe Trump has the best chance of beating Hillary Clinton. Rubio comes in second with just 15%.
Important note: This poll was taken before the San Bernardino Islamic terror attack. When you look at how the news of the attack is unfolding and compare it to Trump’s tough stance on domestic security, you have to conclude his numbers will only improve.
Most of all, though, this poll reflects a massive failure in the DC Media’s waning ability to shape the national debate and define candidates.
My God, on nothing less than “Meet the Press,” the Mac Daddy of DC Media-ism, practically the entire show was dedicated to comparing Trump to a Nazi.
For weeks, the DC Media has thrown CrazyStupidRacist at Trump from a Gatling Gun of hate and frustration and fear like nothing we’ve seen in years. Not only has this attack failed, it appears to be backfiring.
The problem is two-fold: First off, the DC Media is bubble-dumb and completely out of touch with the average American. Secondly, as they become more and more frustrated by their inability to move public opinion on issues like gun control, Syrian refugees, and Trump, they become more and more insulated, defensive, and hysterically partisan. They retreat and talk only to themselves.
Like their baby ObamaCare, the DC Media is in a credibility death spiral.
Do not count them out, though. Over the coming year, they are only going to get nastier, more shrill, and more dishonest.
Back to the poll:
Trump leads with Independents with 35% support. Cruz is in 2nd with 18%.
Trump leads with women with 33% support. Cruz is in 2nd with 15%.
Among us non-college graduates (those the GOP Establishment see as “the rubes”), Trump earns an astonishing 46% support. Cruz comes in 2nd with just 12%. This disproportionate gap, when compared to other groups, makes me wonder if Trump isn’t expanding the Republican base with the Rustbelt working class.
For months I’ve argued that appealing to this group was and is a big part of The Donald’s strategy– to appeal to disaffected Reagan Democrats left behind by their Party’s wild shift to the far-left under Obama, and angry at a Republican Establishment eager to import illegal immigrants who will steal what few working class jobs remain in this country.
America’s working class (my roots) feel left behind by both Parties. When Trump rips bad trade deals, promises to crack down on illegals, blasts a DC Media that despises working people, and blows apart one fascist politically-correct construct after another, that has always come off to me as part of a bigger strategy lost on a DC Media that is now so bubbled and smug and hypnotized by the sound of their own lies, they are blind to whatever is right in front of them.
Every time I worry about how undisciplined Trump appears, and how often he gets himself into trouble, one Big Question looms in the back of my mind…
If the Republican Establishment can’t beat Trump with the media on their side, how will they beat Hillary Clinton with the media on her side?
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC