Donald Trump: After his Nevada victory, could he actually become President of the United States?
Brian Darling, a former senior communications director and counsel for senator Rand Paul, says Yes.
Donald Trump can become President of the United States. His performances in the Republican primaries, in combination with Hillary Clinton’s unpopularity, are a recipe for a President Trump. Although he lost in Iowa, he has shown strength by winning New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. And the future looks bright for the next series of primaries. When you look at all the talented candidates who Trump beat with ease, including my former boss senator Rand Paul, Trump has proven that he can beat the best the Republican Party has to offer. One edge he has is the unpopularity of Clinton if she wins the nomination. Clinton has been a public figure for most of her adult life, yet she is struggling to win the Democratic primary and nobody can forget how she lost to then little known senator Barack Obama in 2008. Polls indicate that Trump is in a dead heat with Clinton. If Bernie Sanders wins for the Democrats, then the world will have a very entertaining battle between a socialist and a capitalist. And Trump can beat Clinton or Sanders.
Ed Bowsher, senior analyst and joint output editor at Share Radio, says No.
Trump will probably be the Republican nominee, but he won’t win the White House. Think about how Obama won last time. He was supported by a coalition of minority voters and college-educated whites. Obama won only 36 per cent of poorer white voters while Republican Mitt Romney won 61 per cent. Those poorer whites are Trump’s core constituency – people who feel that America has left them behind – and broadly speaking, they’re already Republican voters. On the Democrat side, Hillary Clinton will almost certainly be the nominee and I think she can hold together Obama’s 2012 coalition in the general election. Granted, Trump might win support from even more working class whites than Romney, but Clinton can make that up with support from Romney voters who can’t stomach Trump. The only other issue is that Michael Bloomberg might run as an independent. That would hurt Clinton, but Bloomberg probably won’t run if Clinton is on the ballot paper. That means Clinton will be the next US President.