There’s another reason why a GOP coup against Trump is likely to fail: The strength and depth of support of many of his primary voters, who aren’t your typical grand poobahs of the party. As NBC’s Benjy Sarlin writes in a richly reported analysis of Trump’s voters, many of them are Americans “alarmed by economic trends, unsure of their place in a more diverse nation and convinced that the major parties no longer have their interests in mind.” More: “According to our county analysis, one of the most dramatic predictors of [Trump’s] success early in the race was how much a county’s average pay had grown (or hadn’t grown) from 2004 to 2014. Another major predictor was the percentage of whites who participate in the labor force. Still another was whether residents were more or less likely to hold at least a high school degree.” And here’s Trump telling NBC’s Hallie Jackson why his GOP detractors can’t stop him: He already beat them at the ballot box. “I worked for one year and we won all of those delegates. And, you know, I guess I’m at almost 1,600, 15-to-1,600… And I competed along with a lot of establishment people. I beat them all. And now a couple of them would like to come in through the back door. It’s awfully hard when I win, what did I when, 37 or 38 states? So I win 38 states and somebody else won none, and they’re going to be the nominee? I don’t think so.”
Why a GOP rebellion against Trump is (probably) doomed
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