U.S. Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton has established a massive lead over her Republican opponent Donald Trump, according to the first poll after the latter’s lewd comments about women became public last Friday.
Ms. Clinton addressed the biggest rally of this campaign, on Monday in Ohio, which was attended by more than 13,000 people. An NBC News/WSJ poll shows her leading by 11 points, while the average of all latest polls gives her a lead of 6.5 points.
Old scandalsThe day after the vicious second debate between the two, Mr. Trump threatened to continue talking about former President Bill Clinton’s controversial history with women if more tapes of his comments about women surfaced. Mr. Trump’s obsession with old Clinton scandals may actually turn out to be a reprieve for Ms. Clinton, who would otherwise have been explaining her links with the Wall Street and her positions on trade and border this week. These are the issues that animated supporters of her primary opponent Bernie Sanders and Mr. Trump.
Meanwhile, WikiLeaks revealed that Ms. Clinton told Wall Street executives that politicians should have one position for public consumption and another in private for implementation, while advocating open borders and open trade. A fresh tranche of emails released on Monday by the whistleblower website revealed more evidence of Democratic National Committee manoeuvring the primary outcome against Mr. Sanders.
Even in the absence of a focused attack from Mr. Trump, Ms. Clinton is aware of the resentment that the revelation has caused among Mr. Sanders’s supporters. On Monday, she explained in detail her agreement with Mr. Sanders following the primary campaign, and reiterated her plans to mitigate student debts and make education more affordable. Mr. Sanders has made light of the disclosures and has a packed schedule campaigning for Ms. Clinton. Latest polls show 55 per cent of his supporters plan to vote for her, while 12 per cent are planning to support Mr. Trump.
‘Ignore Trump’In another development, Republican Speaker Paul Ryan told the party’s Congressional candidates in a conference call on Monday to focus on their own elections and ignore Mr. Trump. Even as chaos and confusion in the Republican Party continue, vice presidential candidate Mike Pence came out strongly in defence of Mr. Trump, at a rally in North Carolina. Mr. Pence, who has a big following among evangelical Christians, said Mr. Trump’s words about women were unacceptable, but faith is about forgiveness and grace.
“It takes a big man to know when he’s wrong and to admit it. Donald Trump showed last night that he’s a big man,” Mr. Pence said, referring to the candidate’s apology during the debate on Monday. Some other GOP senators also have argued in favour of Mr. Trump, in a clear attempt to assuage the Christian constituency that is offended by Mr. Trump’s boasts about his promiscuous life.
