A new YouGov poll released this week may have just pinpointed the key to Donald Trump’s baffling success.
The GOP frontrunner has managed to grow his lead in spite of a clearcut lack of political correctness, diverging with his party on many key issues, and serving as a thorn in the side to many establishment candidates as well as mainstream media personalities.
He speaks off the cuff, doesn’t apologize, and promises to “Make America Great Again.” But it’s not any of these points that seem to have captivated the American public.
No, the YouGov poll indicates that Trump’s ongoing popularity could be due to one key issue: illegal immigration. According to the polling group, an astounding 92 percent of Americans believe that illegal immigration is a problem, with around 75 percent of those respondents calling it a “serious” issue.
With results like that, it’s not quite so surprising that a candidate that supports building a wall along the southern border of the United States and deporting all undocumented immigrants would stay afloat even as a mountain of negative press and pieces like this one from the Washington Post permeate following the second GOP debate.
But before getting too carried away, it’s also important to note from the YouGov poll that around 52 percent of the 1,000 respondents also backed a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants.
That is not something Trump favors, though he has proposed a plan for expediting “the good ones” back into the United States at the border.
Along with this number, 61 percent of Americans don’t believe that it’s possible to deport the more than 11 million undocumented immigrants living and working in the U.S.
And while Donald Trump can propose that’s what he would do all day long, it won’t necessarily translate to votes if he can’t get the 75 percent to buy in to its plausibility.
Even so, other polls have shown that “the Donald” continues to do well, even after contentious debates like the CNN-hosted event on Sept. 16, in which an array of Republican candidates ganged up on his plans and his lack of policy specifics.
What do you think, readers? Is the illegal immigration issue keeping Donald Trump bolstered in the crowded GOP field? Do you think his hardline stance is what the Party as well as centrist Independents want to hear?
And are the YouGov numbers indicative that there is enough national support for Trump to stumble his way into the White House? Sound off in the comments section.
[Image via Fox News , linked above]