Donald Trump is doing a lot better than expected tonight, but exit polling showed the voters had deep reservations about his temperament.
He regularly bragged that he never held political office and he never worried about sounding politically correct. From the beginning, his campaign tried to make that inexperience and disposition an asset. It backfired.
Toward the end, the bombastic businessman hurt his own brand with his lewd sexism and casual racism. Exit polls shows that the majority of the country fundamentally questions the Republican’s character.
According to a recently released NBC exit poll, 64 percent of Americans doubt whether he has the temperament necessary to lead the free world.
A populist base didn’t care about Trump’s character during the primary. The crass celebrity candidate easily dispatched 16 more qualified challengers. But if character didn’t matter early, it’s might make all the difference later.
Democrats have not been as charitable toward Trump during the general election. Instead, they’ve made certain that the electorate knew the intimate details of his marital infidelities, legal scandals, and bankruptcies. Maybe that was dirty. It was definitely necessary for Clinton to win.
Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
