It's been a no-good, very bad week for Donald Trump. The GOP front-runner was already dealing with a messy sideshow with his campaign manager, then, to make matters worse, he managed to outrage nearly everyone with his suggestion that women be subjected to "some form" of punishment for aborting their children. Of course the most outrageous aspect of his comments was that he delivered them to conservative Republicans.
Now, the brash candidness that used to be an asset is turning into the mogul's worst liability. According to new numbers, if Donald Trump became the Republican nominee, "he would start the general election campaign as the least-popular candidate to represent either party in modern times." With his favorability ratings in a freefall (67 percent view him unfavorably, the Washington Post wonders -- as do we all -- how these latest fiasco will affect the billionaire's first-place standing. And it's not just the polling that's affect -- so are delegates, who are increasingly ready to break from him on the second nomination ballot.
His ill-informed abortion comments, which could have come straight off of a Planned Parenthood fundraising email, rather than a pro-life policy paper, may have finally broken voters from the spell Trump's blunt appeal. For once, Donald wasn't telling it how it is -- but how it isn't. As people across the pro-life movement were quick to point out, no one has ever, as Trump suggested, called for the conviction of women -- only compassion toward them. As Charles Krauthammer said, citing my comments and others', "The problem isn't only that he got it wrong... he really ought to spend the time [with pro-lifers], and get this right, but it is the lack of curiosity... Perkins said anybody who's been on this issue, who knows the pro-life community, who knows what the arguments are, and what people really believe, knows that is not true. That is not the position of anybody on the pro-life side."
It's time for Trump to stop ascribing positions to conservatives and start learning them. Otherwise, he's not only damaging his campaign, but the movement as a whole.
DISCLAIMER: Tony Perkins has made an endorsement in his individual and personal capacity only, and it should not be construed or interpreted in any way as the endorsement of FRC, FRC Action, or any affiliated entity.
** Circle your calendars for April 17 and encourage your church to join FRC's special Stand with the Persecuted Sunday. For information about how you can help our brothers and sisters around the world by participating, visit FRC.org/Stand. Or check out Rob Schwarzwalder's piece on the FRC Blog.
