Last night, debate viewers may have seen the end of the Summer of Trump, as the Donald floundered about the Reagan Library. I am not one of those who are inclined to read profundities into the Trump phenomenon. Many of his supporters don’t follow politics closely, and often seem to enjoy him as an entertainer more than they see him in the Oval Office. He has benefited from grossly disproportionate media attention, so inattentive voters hear about him far more than the other candidates. His support among Republicans doesn’t follow ideological lines, defying easy categorization. But I can tease out at least a few hypotheses about his backers: CONT.
Richard Skinner (Johns Hopkins & GWU), Brookings Institution