With Donald Trump not giving an inch in his very public feud with Sen. John McCain and other top GOP leaders, a new national poll showed him well ahead of the Republican field, even as a leading newspaper in Iowa said it was time for Trump to go back to being a businessman.
"He has become "the distraction with traction," the Des Moines Register said in an editorial, labeling Trump a "feckless blowhard who can generate headlines, name recognition and polling numbers not by provoking thought, but by provoking outrage."
Credit: Jamie Dupree
Credit: Jamie Dupree
"Trump should pull the plug on his bloviating side show," the Register headline crackled.
The editorial came out a few hours after a new ABC News/Washington Post poll showed Trump the clear leader in the Republican field, though it noted that Trump's support had softened on Sunday, after he ridiculed the war record of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ).
"People are tired of incompetent leaders and being pushed around at will by other nations, our enemies, and even our friends," Trump said in a statement about his strong polling numbers. "Politicians have completely failed the American people."
The poll had Trump at 24 percent, Scott Walker at 13, Jeb Bush at 12 percent.
But the survey found that support softened dramatically after Trump's attack on McCain.
"Trump's support was conspicuously lower Sunday than in the three previous days," the pollster reported.
Trump meanwhile also spent Monday lashing out at his critics and the news media, saying they have no idea what the American people want.
As for Democrats, they are enjoying the Trump show from the sidelines, fully convinced that the longer Trump stays in the spotlight, the more damage he does to the GOP nominee for 2016.
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