by Claire Bernish
\nTheAntiMedia.org<\/p>\n
Trump will be the next president of the United States.<\/strong><\/p>\n Now, before you take up arms over that statement, take a minute to carefully peruse the evidence pointing to precisely such an outcome. Because – no matter your opinions concerning the maladroit, cocksure demagogue with a fondness for describing himself in the third person – it\u2019s almost inevitable you\u2019ll soon be calling him President Trump.<\/strong><\/p>\n Take, for instance, Trump\u2019s almost miraculously massive following\u2019s aptitude in forcing the GOP establishment to its knees in concession once Ted Cruz and John Kasich abruptly withdrew their bids for the White House. As has rightly been reported, this indicates a Republican Party in utter disarray.<\/p>\n However, despite the chaos, Trump\u2019s veritable chokehold on \u2014 and indiscriminate thwarting of \u2014 politics-as-usual<\/strong> became immediately apparent with House Speaker Paul Ryan\u2019s capitulation<\/a> that he would, indeed, support the presumptive nominee in whatever capacity necessary at the Republican National Convention.<\/p>\n Though GOP insiders might claim<\/a> Trump\u2019s wild success has \u2018destroyed\u2019 party tradition \u2014 and it arguably has \u2014 focusing on just the GOP downplays the ataxia unfolding on the other side of the aisle.<\/strong><\/p>\n Controversy over Trump has been matched, if not surpassed, solely by the contentiously war-mongering \u2014 not to mention fundamentally mendacious \u2014 campaign of Hillary Clinton. <\/strong><\/u>Mystifying innumerable independent observers, Clinton\u2019s dominance of the Democratic race for the presidency continually defies polls touting<\/a> Bernie Sanders as the infinitely more popular candidate.<\/p>\n Granted, such polls are notoriously unreliable predictors of an actual vote, but their function as barometers of national opinion facilely illustrates trends that, over time, leave little room for doubt. Yet, as state after state holds primaries and caucuses, reports of potential electoral fraud and gross voter disenfranchisement explode in headlines and social media \u2014 turning any doubt about decisive poll results into an electoral gray area worthy of a closer look.<\/p>\n Such rampant corruption<\/a> of the voting process demands meticulous consideration, as those more prone to question such discrepancies might justifiably conjecture whether Hillary Clinton\u2019s zeal for office has trumped her obligation to adhere to the law.<\/strong><\/p>\n Besides whatever shady wrangling may be taking place, however, the Democratic Party\u2019s devotion to establishment narratives has cleaved a sharp rift \u2014 which likely won\u2019t be bridged even after the next president sits at the helm.<\/p>\n Sanders\u2019 supporters previously claimed<\/a> they would reluctantly concede their votes to Clinton should he not garner the nomination \u2014 but even that may be changing. According to an informal, albeit limited poll performed by<\/a> the Guardian<\/em> during a Sanders rally in Sacramento, fewer than half stated they would automatically lend support in such a situation \u2014 with three of 22 people saying they would go as far as voting Trump and one vowing to move to Britain instead of voting Hillary.<\/p>\n While mainstream pundits, who arguably amount to little more than establishment mouthpieces<\/a>,<\/strong> amplify Clinton\u2019s campaign success through countless media outlets \u2014 and rebuke<\/a> protests over suspected electoral trickery \u2014 the former secretary\u2019s voter unfavorability ratings have skyrocketed.<\/p>\n \u201cClinton\u2019s average \u2018strongly unfavorable\u2019 rating in probability sample polls from late March to late April, 37 percent, is about 5 percentage points higher than the previous high between 1980 and 2012,\u201d<\/em><\/strong> FiveThirtyEight<\/em>\u2019s Harry Enten reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n Yet she continues to maintain a lead in pledged delegates \u2014 and every indication at the time of this article shows Clinton with overwhelming but unofficial support<\/a> from superdelegates<\/a>, at 525 to Sanders\u2019 paltry 39. Knowing this, Sanders has already hinted at plans for a contested Democratic convention.<\/p>\n \u201cI think what this campaign is looking for and what the senator is looking for is going into the convention and coming out with the nomination,\u201d<\/em> Sanders\u2019 campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, told<\/a> CNN<\/em> in early April. In other words, the self-declared Democratic Socialist harbors no intentions of throwing in the towel early.<\/p>\n So, you\u2019re probably asking, how does any of this pertain to Trump winning the election?<\/strong><\/u><\/p>\n Simple \u2014 the deck has already stacked itself.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n While the Democratic establishment desperately clings to a Hillary nomination \u2014 so slavishly it potentially bent<\/a> the rules past the breaking point \u2014 the impassioned grassroots movement backing Sanders potentiates the likelihood the convention could devolve into pandemonium. As more and more Sanders devotees vow their allegiance to vote #BernieOrBust, the Clinton establishment serves more as a divisive wedge than a viable campaign.<\/p>\n And this is where those highly controversial superdelegates<\/a> come into play \u2014 precisely as the Democratic Party intended them to when they were instituted decades ago.<\/p>\n As the International Business Times<\/em> reported<\/a> on the potential looming contested convention, \u201ceven if every superdelegate backed the winner of his or her state Sanders still can\u2019t win enough to nab the nomination. Only 15 percent of all the Democratic delegates are supers. A candidate needs 2,383 delegates to win, and if Clinton keeps up her current level of support, she could win a majority of the pledged delegates by June 7. To tilt the scales, Sanders would need to win 70 percent of the vote in the remaining contests, a high bar that far exceeds how he has performed so far.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n As if the situation couldn\u2019t play out more smoothly in Trump\u2019s favor, the latest poll, released Thursday, puts the billionaire narcissist ahead of diehard war hawk, Clinton, for the first time this election season. Rasmussen Report<\/em>\u2019s first White House Watch poll<\/a> \u2014 \u00a0pitting potential candidate match-ups for the national election \u2014 places Trump beating Clinton, 42 percent to her 37 percent<\/strong>. Though not sizeable, it\u2019s still a palpable lead.<\/p>\n If Sanders cannot<\/em> win the delegate count \u2014 or, rather, is materially barred from winning through dicey establishment tactics <\/em><\/strong>\u2014 and Clinton is already polling behind Trump in theoretical elections, it appears the United States has clamorously fumbled its way to installing Trump in the White House.<\/p>\n Polls vascillate, as does popular opinion, but this collision course by inept design appears most likely to place one of the most hated candidates<\/a> in presidential election history at the helm of the so-called Free World.<\/strong><\/p>\n