Last night, Donald Trump gave a controversial speech on immigration. This comes at an interesting time for him — he has nearly completed a full comeback from his post-Democratic Convention doldrums, when he trailed Hillary Clinton by nearly double digits in most polls.
The “real” campaign doesn’t start until Labor Day, as the maxim goes. If that’s true, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton will begin the campaign from nearly the same starting point. A pair of polls released in the last two days show a race that is virtually tied:
- Fox News (8/28 – 8/30): Clinton 41, Trump 39, Johnson 9, Stein 4 (Clinton +2)
- Rasmussen (8/29 – 8/30): Trump 40, Clinton 39, Johnson 7, Stein 3 (Trump +1)
Like the Rasmussen poll, a daily tracking poll taken by the LA Times also gives Trump a slight lead:
- LA Times/USC (8/31): Trump 45, Clinton 42 (Trump +3)
As we all know, this is going to be a race to the bottom. Both Trump and Clinton are historically unlikable. Unfavorable ratings for both candidates remain sky high, consistently in the mid 50’s for Hillary Clinton and frequently topping 60 for Donald Trump, depending on the poll.
Both candidates are universally detested. Because of that, it’s fair to assume that, when swing voters head into the polling booths, the candidate least likely to receive their vote will be the candidate they are thinking about the most. Trump would be wise to steer the national conversation to the corruption and misdeeds of Hillary Clinton — and talk a little bit less about himself.
Jon Schweppe is the Communications Director for American Principles Project. Follow him on Twitter @JonSchweppe.
