Trump, Clinton unpopular but won

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton addresses supporters during a primary night event on April 26, 2016 in Philadelphia after winning the Pennsylvania state primary. In Mrs Clinton’s case, 56 per cent are down on her, while only 32 per cent see her in a favourable light, the same poll found. PHOTO | AFP

What you need to know:

  • Trump, 69, an unpredictable political outsider who has never held elected office, has antagonized substantial portions of the electorate with his insults against women, Mexicans and Muslims.
  • Judge Emmet Sullivan on Wednesday gave the go ahead for Judicial Watch to take testimony from several of Clinton’s close aides when she was secretary of state.

NEW YORK

It’s the paradox of the 2016 US presidential elections: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are virtually assured of facing off against each other in November, and yet both are widely unpopular.

Two thirds (65 per cent) of voters have unfavourable opinions of the Republican billionaire, and only a quarter (24 per cent) think positively of him, according to a recent Wall Street Journal/NBC survey.

In Mrs Clinton’s case, 56 per cent are down on her, while only 32 per cent see her in a favourable light, the same poll found.

A CNN poll this week put their unpopularity at 56 per cent and 49 per cent respectively.

“Historically, we haven’t seen this kind of thing before,” said Jeanne Zaino, a political scientist at Iona College. “It would be one thing if you had one, but this is... the two frontrunners.”

Trump, 69, an unpredictable political outsider who has never held elected office, has antagonized substantial portions of the electorate with his insults against women, Mexicans and Muslims.

The very experienced and circumspect Clinton, meanwhile, has struggled to win over many voters who have trouble relating to the 68-year-old White House aspirant.

How in the world did these two become their party’s presumptive nominees? “It has to do with the way we select candidates,” said Columbia University professor Robert Shapiro.

In 2012, only about 16 per cent of Americans eligible to vote participated in party primaries.

“Those who vote in primaries and caucuses are more often activists and extremists within the party. The average American barely votes,” Prof Shapiro said.

With 17 candidates in the race for the Republican nomination, Trump only needed “a very small segment of the American electorate” to become his party’s standard bearer, he added.

Hillary Clinton profited from the fact that she had little competition, except from Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator who continues to nip at her heels.

“Other capable Democrat candidates decided not to run, because this is a bad year for Democrats to run for president,” said Shapiro, alluding to the difficulty of getting elected to succeed a two-term president from the same party.

TESTIMONIES
Trump and Clinton also suffer from the fact that they are so well known, said Zaino.

“These are two people who have been around a long time, so people have very strong opinions about them on both sides of the aisle,” she said.

Meanwhile, a federal judge has said Mrs Clinton may be required to testify about her private email system while secretary of state as part of a freedom of information act lawsuit brought by a conservative watchdog group.

It was the latest twist in a long-running email saga that continues to dog Mrs Clinton as she runs for president as the presumptive Democratic nominee.

Judge Emmet Sullivan on Wednesday gave the go ahead for Judicial Watch to take testimony from several of Clinton’s close aides when she was secretary of state.

“Based on information learned during discovery, the deposition of Mrs Clinton may be necessary,” Sullivan said in an order granting Judicial Watch discovery.

The order authorizes depositions of seven former State Department officials about the private email system Clinton used for much of her electronic correspondence while secretary of state.

They include Cheryl Mills, who was Clinton’s chief of staff at the State Department; Huma Abedin, her former deputy chief of staff; and Bryan Pagliano, the State Department employee who reportedly set up the email system.

Clinton’s use of a private server for both official and private correspondence first came to light in