Trump Surges in Latest Poll

As establishment Republican leaders privately express consternation about his popularity and doubt that he could win a general election, Trump is resuming his upward path within the GOP.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., comes in at 11 percent in the latest poll, while the other candidates have support in the low single digits. Both are seen as stronger on foreign policy than Trump and his main Republican rival, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, neither of whom have any experience in government and are running as Washington outsiders. Two-thirds of those surveyed also said Trump would do more to address illegal immigration and more than half said he would be better prepared to combat Islamic terrorism than Carson.

Carson also raised eyebrows Thursday when he compared blocking potential terrorists posing as Syrian refugees from entering the U.S.to handling a rabid dog.

According to an NBC News/Survey Monkey poll, Trump leads the Republican field with 28 percent support.

“No, not at all”, Trump said. “The losers are going to be Donald Trump and Ben Carson on national security”, Katon Dawson, the former chairman of the SC GOP, told Politico.

Taking these people is absolute insanity, Trump added.

80 year-old Bobby Phillips, a veteran who served six years in the National Guard, said in Knoxville that he’s simply “through with politicians” and touted Trump’s ability to surround himself with the best advisers.

Trump is talking broadly about his approach instead of bogging voters down with details, said Republican strategist John Feehery. “He’s not talking about “no-fly” zones”.

The poll included 2,440 Republican and Republican-leaning voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points and 1,983 Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

He suggested that his lead in the polls, unshaken by disparaging remarks he’s made about ethnic groups or his lack of specifics on foreign policy, has vexed the Republican party.