Donald Trump has a serious Republican primary problem – and it’s getting worse
We’re still waiting to see whether the Republican Party will actually go through with nominating a (by that time) convicted and (already) senile Donald Trump for President at its convention this summer. Now that Trump has managed to put his own family in charge of the RNC, this may be a moot question. We’ll see. But if the Republicans are stupid enough to nominate Trump, they’re looking at a huge problem.
Indiana held its Republican presidential primary yesterday, and Nikki Haley got about 22% of the vote. This is in spite of the fact that she dropped out two months ago. Remember, Haley has never been popular and doesn’t really have any fans. She’s merely “Brand B” on the Republican side because she was the last one to drop out. In reality, the votes she’s getting are “I hate Trump enough to show up and vote against him in an uncontested primary” votes – and these votes are coming from Republicans.
Donald Trump is running as a de facto incumbent within his party. He’s been running unopposed for months. And yet he still can’t get so much as 80% of the primary vote within his own party. As his criminal trial gets underway and his dementia symptoms continue to get worse, his primary voting share is getting worse, not better.
If Trump can’t do something to turn these numbers around, he’s looking at a disaster in November. If the Republicans really want to nominate a senile convicted criminal who’s not even popular within his own party’s base, then so be it.
Bill Palmer is the publisher of the political news outlet Palmer Report