According to a report from the New York Times, Hillary Clinton and her strategists are building a plan to defeat Donald Trump in the general election – and it could include some support from President Obama.
As voting returns make it more and more likely that both Clinton and Trump will be their respective parties’ nominees, the former secretary of state is worried that defeating the businessman might not be as easy as she once thought. While some Democrats continue to believe that Clinton will triumph over Trump in a landslide, the real estate magnate’s soaring poll numbers prove he’s not just a flash in the pan. And since he has already emerged from multiple “scandals” virtually unharmed, the Clinton machine has to wonder if there is anything they can say about him that hasn’t already been said.
Making things worse, the difference between the excitement levels surrounding the Democratic and Republican primaries could not be more obvious. Voter turnout has been dismal thus far for the Dems, while the Republicans are breaking records left and right. If Democratic voters carry this apathy over into the general election, it may be Clinton who finds herself on the losing end of a landslide.
While Clinton is planning to attack Trump on his temperament, his sexism, his business record, and everything else under the sun, she could face the same problem his Republican challengers have run into: namely, she’s a politician. And no matter what kind of case she makes, that will always be true. Put aside her email scandal, her dubious foreign policy record, and her reputation for dishonesty. If the American people are looking for an outsider, she’s going to be in trouble.
Worse yet, Trump’s biggest problems in the primaries could become his greatest strengths in the general election. Suddenly, his mixed record on conservative issues could make him a viable alternative for the white Democrats who are singularly unmoved by Clinton. Some, including Trump, have even suggested that he could take states once thought to be safe ground for the Democrats.
To stop him, Clinton’s campaign has even reached out to the president. Obama has already made some tentative remarks about Trump, telling reporters that he continues to believe that he will not be president. The Times article says that Obama has “gleefully” agreed to present Trump as someone incapable of doing the job.
But that’s a double-edged sword as well. Obama’s word is worth less than nothing to Republican voters, and Trump can use Obama’s condemnation as a selling point. Clinton has successfully dominated among black voters by wrapping herself in everything Obama, but he’s not nearly as popular among the rest of the public. She could be backing herself into a corner.
At the end of the day, Clinton’s path to the White House may be determined less by her campaign and more by the Republican Party. If they align against their own nominee, Trump will need a miracle to win. If they decide it’s better to win than to disavow, though, we could be on the verge of the most stunning political upset in American history.
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