Donald Trump blustered and backtracked on claim that he saw a secret video of the US making cash payment of around $ 400 million to Iran after which Tehran released captive Americans, He also backed down on reservations regarding endorsement of GOP stalwarts House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senator John McCain and then publicly declared his support for them.
These two embarrassments followed late last month’s attacks against Gold Star parents – Khizr Khan and Ghazala Khan – of an American hero who laid down his life for the United States, touching off a storm of criticism from all around including veteran associations, Democratic and Republican politicians.
The spate of controversies is beginning to hit Republican Party prospects for November 8 elections with serious implicarions : Republican politicians distancing themselves from Trump and giving Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton the largest margin of lead in latest polls
On Sunday, a poll saw Hillary Clinton overtake Trump by 8 points nationally. Now Clinton has 50 percent support among registered voters in the Washington Post-ABC News poll, compared to 42 percent for Trump. In July, Clinton led Trump by 4 points, 47 to 43 percent.
The trends reveal that Clinton maintains her 8-point lead in the new poll when third-party candidates are factored in. In such a scenario, Clinton has 45 percent support, Trump has 37 percent, Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson has 8 percent and Green Party nominee Jill Stein has 4 percent.
Pollsters also found that 74 percent of registered voters disapproved of Trump’s dispute with Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the Pakistani-American parents of U.S. Army captain Humayun Khan, who was killed in combat in Iraq in 2004.
A big part – sixty percent – of respondents said Trump is not honest and trustworthy, while 36 percent said he is.
At the same time, sixty percent also said Clinton is not honest and trustworthy, compared to 38 percent who said she has those characteristics. Among college-educated White women, Clinton holds a 19-point lead over Trump, 57 to 38 percent. Last month the two candidates split that key demographic.
The New York Times, meanwhile, reported Sunday Republican leaders have concluded that Trump is a threat to the party’s fortunes and “have begun discussing how soon their endangered candidates should explicitly distance themselves from the presidential nominee.”
“For Republicans in close races, top strategists say, the issue is no longer in doubt. One House Republican has already started airing an ad vowing to stand up to Mr. Trump if he is elected president, and others are expected to press similar themes in the weeks ahead,” a Times analytical story noted.
