As Trump Hits New Hampshire, Poll Shows Overwhelming Opposition

Donald Trump makes his maiden (if stealthy) voyage to New Hampshire today but he arrives amid yet more evidence suggesting that he’s the Democrats’ dream candidate for GOP nominee.

[Check out political cartoons about the 2012 GOP field.]

According to a new USA Today/Gallup poll, 63 percent of Americans flatly will not vote for Trump for president, and that includes 46 percent of all Republicans. At a time when 46 percent of all Americans say they will not vote for Obama. (Obama’s not much worse off than any other major contenders: former Govs. Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee have “no way” numbers of 45 and 46 percent respectively, while former half term Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has a Trump-like 65 percent figure.) [See editorial cartoons about Palin.]

As an aside, my favorite part of the poll relates to Trump’s birther fixation, which has helped power him to the top of the GOP field in some polls. According to USA Today:

For what it’s worth, not everyone is convinced Trump was born in the USA either: 43% say he definitely was born here, and 20% say he probably was; 7% say he definitely or probably was born in another country. Nearly three in 10 say they don’t know enough to say.

Poetic justice?

In any case, Trump continues to make enough serious noises about a run to make veteran operatives like Jim McLaughlin conclude that “he’s running.”

I’m still in the skeptical camp, but Hot Air’s Allahpundit conjures an enticing scenario:

Trump’s pandering to social conservatives isn’t going to sweep him to victory in Iowa, so if he’s serious about running, it’s New Hampshire or bust. Which raises a question: What if his polling remains semi-respectable into the fall — 20 percent in NH, say, good enough for a distant second to Romney — and he emerges as the best chance to upset Mitt in that state? Will RomneyCare-hating conservatives rally around him or will they stampede towards Pawlenty? Or is Trump actually Romney’s best friend since he’s peeling away Birther votes that would have gone to Mitt’s rivals? He really is the Joker in this deck.

Indeed. And in this deck, that’s saying something.

• Check out a roundup of political cartoons on the 2012 GOP candidates.
• Vote now: Is Trump serious about running for president?
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