Republican partisans and some other conservative-leaning constituencies are demonstrably warming in their attitudes toward the blustery business executive. But views of Trump generally remain stagnant, or are even deteriorating, among adults who identify as Democrats or independents. Within that mix, the groups at the core of the coalition that powered President Obama’s two victories express especially toxic opinions about him.
The dynamic suggests that more Republicans are growing comfortable with the prospect of Trump winning the party nomination, even as resistance to him is solidifying among the voters he would need to win the general election.
“Republicans are looking at him and starting to think, ‘Maybe I could swallow him,’ and independents are looking at him going, ‘Oh my god, I can’t believe it,’” said the pollster for one of Trump’s rivals for the nomination, who asked to remain anonymous to discuss the race’s internal dynamics.
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