There's no question that Donald Trump has consistently hovered below Hillary Clinton in the general election polls ever since they became the "presumptive" nominees of their parties. Aside from a few fluctuations, like the days following the Republican National Convention in July, and after Hillary's health became an "issue" following her "fainting" at a 9/11 memorial event, her advantage in the polls has been giving him a real run for his money. Especially after his embarrassing performance in his first debate against Clinton, his numbers have continued to tumble, enough to make one think that he doesn't have a chance on November 8.
But, are we sure he doesn't?
Over the past year, I've made a few observations about the way Trump has been leading his campaign, and its effects on his poll numbers. The first observation, obviously, was that his support seemed to rise every time he did or said something controversial as a presidential candidate. Whenever you'd think his numbers would drop, they would go up. That's what made him the nominee.
Unfortunately for Trump, this phenomenon that he became so comfortable with is no longer his secret weapon, as he now faces the challenge of appealing to swing voters who don't see a president in such behavior. However, every now and then, slowly but surely, after he became the presumptive nominee, his poll numbers would creep up to Clinton's, probably causing her to bite her nails in fear. It would be just around this time that Trump would do something ridiculous, or Hillary would suddenly do something that would make herself look more appealing, causing his poll numbers to tumble once again. Trump's numbers would fall, and his supporters would lose hope.
And, then, as time would pass without controversy from Trump, his poll numbers would rise yet again. This is his niche.
The way I see it, the only way Donald Trump could possibly become president is if he could take advantage of this niche, manage to stay out of trouble for the next month, and perform somewhat acceptably in the remaining debates. Come election day, if his poll numbers rise without being attacked by his own actions, America could be on its way to the presidency of Donald J. Trump.
There is only one factor that could stop this from happening: the media. There is no doubt that nearly every facet of the mainstream media, aside from Fox News and the New York Post, is unapologetically against the election of Donald Trump. If I could make one prediction, it is that during the final few days leading up to election day, the media will launch an absolutely all-out assault against Trump, highlighting as many of his flaws as they could possibly put on paper or on a screen. Every late night talk show host, every news network, every magazine, and even all the popular accounts on Twitter will rip him to shreds like they never have before, influencing Trump-leaning swing voters to second-guess their decision.
Of course, this is all just prediction. In the most gripping, shocking, and (it pains me to say it, but) entertaining election in American history, it has been proven time and time again that anything can happen.
