After losing big elections in 2008 and 2012, Republicans promised to shed their image of the party of old, wealthy white men and do more to attract Hispanic and women voters. Then Donald Trump came along — and The Daily Show's Jon Stewart could not be happier about it.
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"The living embodiment of everything Republicans were trying to exorcise from their party just escalated down on their parade," Stewart said, pointing to recent polls that show Trump on top even as he continues making outrageous comments about women and Hispanics.
But Trump's rise is seriously worrying the Republican establishment as the first debate nears — even if it does reflect the will of the voters.
With the debate looming, Trump's candidacy is freaking out the Koch brothers and other wealthy Republican donors
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Some wealthy Republican donors have made it clear that they don't like Trump's strong showing in the polls, with recent reports conveying their disapproval of their fellow billionaire.
"This Trump guy is a rich, crazy, egotistical monster," Stewart said, mocking wealthy GOP contributors. "People like him are supposed to buy the candidates, not be them."
Yet it now looks increasingly likely that Trump will qualify for the first debate, with polling averages like RealClearPolitics showing him with a lead of more than 7.1 percentage points. Only the 10 best-polling candidates can make it to the debate stage, and Trump's top spot at this point practically guarantees he'll qualify.
But maybe Republican voters just like Trump
Stewart suggested a simple reason for Donald Trump's rise in the polls: "Did you ever consider that maybe the GOP's problem isn't hostile moderators or a liberal media or too many debates or not enough Spanish-language leaflets? Maybe the problem is that registered Republicans, in their honest appraisal of the state of our nation, the issues most important to them, and the 17 competing visions of America's future on offer, have decided this is what they like."
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