New polls show Donald Trump surging after the Republican convention, pulling even with or ahead of Hillary Clinton. If that seems surreal, given how many different groups Trump has offended, from women to Latinos to African Americans, there’s a two-word explanation: white men.
To say my demographic group doesn’t like Hillary Clinton would be an understatement. In June, a Washington Post / ABC News poll found that just 23 percent of all white men view Clinton favorably, with a whopping 75 percent viewing her unfavorably. And remember: Trump's current surge in the polls comes after a four-day Hillary hate fest led by white men.
The question is, why? What is it about Clinton that so many white men find so unpalatable? Broach that question here in Philadelphia, and things can get a bit awkward.
You might hear: frustration with Clinton is about substance, not her race or sex. But it might be about the way some white men's lives have changed.
Bill Clinton could turn laments like that into political gold but Hillary's never had that knack. She's also struggled to win voters who feel betrayed by free trade, a sweet spot for both Sanders and Trump. And making history as the first female president might not be an asset at a moment when some white men are feeling inclusion fatigue.
Steve Lynch said,you never hear Dems talking a lot about white men.
And that silence comes at a time when American demographics are shifting decisively.
Hillary Clinton didn’t create these problems, and she's not the first Democrat to struggle with white males. But her challenge is unique, because Donald Trump's campaign is tailor made to stoke white male resentment. So, how could Clinton respond?
Picking Tim Kaine as her running mate suggests Clinton is taking the white-male gap seriously. And she'd better. Because while the political clout of white men may be fading, it could still be potent enough to swing this election.
Adam joined Jim from Philly to discuss.
Jim Braude: Hey there, Adam.
Adam Reilly: Hey, Jim.
JB: So your package talked about white guys in general. I wanna talk about a subset. The New York Times this morning did a compilation of six polls. White men who do not have college degrees – Trump’s got a crushing two-to-one lead. Did you see anything in last night’s program, night one, that was targeted to those guys in an attempt to peel some of them away from Donald Trump?
AR: I didn’t. I mean, you could say parts of Sanders’ speech might’ve helped to accomplish that, but he was really there to bring the Sanders loyalists into the fold. I didn’t see anything last night that looked like a clear overture to them, and I don’t see it tonight with the exception of Bill Clinton. Of course, he’s the architect of the Global Free Trade system that so many of the Sanders-faithful inveigh against. So I think it’s a roll of dice to put him up there to fulfill that role.
JB: Well even the trade thing, I agree is a good point, is a problem. But his alter-ego is Bubba. I mean that is in part the demo that we’re – I don’t mean that in a pejorative way – that is the demo that Hillary Clinton is doing so poorly in. So he’s gotta be the messenger, right? Isn’t that clear tonight?
AR: He has to be, but I think the tricky part is in this election cycle, Bill Clinton seems more inclined to fight with people who take issue with his wife than he does to try to convince them or get them to come around. So he really needs to keep that in check tonight and sell Hillary Clinton as someone who can provide uplift to white, working-class voters.
JB: So can we stay on polls for just one final minute here. We all know the polls coming out of the Republican Convention showed Trump with a pretty significant bump. Are people there in general worried about this, or do they say that’s just typical convention stuff, we’ll get our bump Friday and Saturday too?
AR: They split into two camps. Mike Capuano, the Congressman from Massachusetts, told the cabinet the other day if you’re not taking this deadly seriously, get out of the way because Donald Trump can win if we don’t work really hard. You talk to other democrats who’ll say – frequently when you’re not recording or filming them – I just can’t believe the majority of American voters are gonna vote for him, someone who says and does what he says and does. But I think there’s reason to be a little less optimistic then they are. So there’s a combination: concern and optimism.
JB: So the bosses tell you you had to wear a dark suit today or what happened?
AR: [Laughs.] No, no, I wanted to look nice, it’s my first hit this week. So I wanted to look good.
JB: You look excellent. We’ll talk to you soon Adam Reilly.
