Despite Outcry, Muslim Ban Unlikely to Spell Quick Fall for Trump
Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump's proposal to bar Muslims from entering the U.S. won’t destroy his candidacy—but would severely threaten the party's chance at the White House in 2016 if he’s the nominee, GOP strategists and pundits said.
Trump in a statement on Monday called for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the U.S. until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on,” days after a mass shooting in California that authorities say was an act of terrorism by a radicalized Muslim couple. The temporary move wouldn’t betray the Constitution and would be waived for Muslim heads of state, he said on TV on Tuesday.
His plan ignited a firestorm among rival Republicans, Democrats, and party chairpeople in the three states that will hold the first nomination votes next year. House Speaker Paul Ryan said Trump’s proposal “is not what this party stands for, and more importantly, it’s not what this country stands for.” Former Vice President Dick Cheney, a vocal proponent of stronger counterterrorism measures, said Trump's proposal “goes against everything we stand for and believe in.”
But GOP voters' antipathy toward Islam and frustration with President Barack Obama, plus competitors’ inability to outmuscle Trump so far, suggest this won’t be the uproar that finally ends his bid and clears the way for a stronger nominee to face Hillary Clinton, the likely Democratic standard-bearer.
“Hate Donald Trump all you want, be offended by his proposal all you want, but it is really brilliant politics for Trump right now in the Republican primary and the reactions from the other candidates prove it,” wrote conservative radio host Erick Erickson. Candidates “attacking Trump on his immigration proposals now attacking him on this have done themselves no favors within the primary process” by aligning themselves with Obama on both issues in voters’ eyes.
Angry Voters
Trump's critics have become all too familiar with the pattern: The New York billionaire says something they consider offensive, sexist, or racist; prognosticators forecast his downfall; but he stays strong or even rises in GOP polls. The pattern held when Trump trashed migrants from Mexico, attacked Senator John McCain's war record, and insulted Fox News host Megyn Kelly.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-12-08/despite-outcry-muslim-ban-unlikely-to-spell-quick-fall-for-trump
