Trump still struggles for traction as Clinton stumbles

ASHEVILLE, N.C.—Hillary Clinton had a rough weekend. First, she took a potshot at Donald Trump supporters during a Friday rally, saying she would put half of them in a “basket of deplorables.” Then she suffered what appeared to be a fainting spell—later revealed to be from a case of pneumonia—at Sunday’s 9/11 commemoration events in New York City, rekindling speculation about hidden health problems.

Both incidents, widely seen as major campaign missteps, have given Trump some momentum and additional stump-speech fodder. But will they change the campaign narrative?

Last night’s Trump rally in Asheville, N.C., didn’t offer much new material for supporters of either candidate to work with. Speaking to a crowd of about 6,000, Trump delivered his oft-repeated promise to make America great again, vowing to “overturn every unconstitutional thing signed by Obama and to repeal Obamacare.”

Outside the downtown venue, hundreds of protesters gathered, heckling those waiting to get inside. “Go home racists!” some shouted, while others held signs saying, “No hate in the 828,” referring to the city’s area code. Some signs contained slogans too vulgar to reprint. A family of six on vacation from Florida heard about the rally Monday morning and decided to join the protest with handwritten cardboard signs reading, “Trump does not support women.”

Champ Covington Jr. arrived at the rally wearing over his head a white laundry basket adorned with neon streamers. Across the top in black ink he had written “Deplorable.” Tony Bennett, a registered Independent, said he planned to vote Republican this year: “Trump busted up the establishment. He’s the man in the position to shake it up.”

Trump’s speech focused mostly on reviving the economy and employment, appealing to workers in a state where manufacturing jobs in previous decades flourished before thousands were outsourced overseas. He promised to lift job-killing regulations and make tax cuts that would unleash prosperity across the country.

Twenty minutes into his speech, a woman standing near the front of the stage apparently got overheated. Trump stopped speaking and called for a doctor, walking down the stairs and into the crowd. He thanked the woman for her support and held her hand until two paramedics escorted her out.

The kinder, gentler incarnation of Trump is part of a campaign strategy to shed some of his bombastic trademark style and appeal to a wider swath of voters. But so far, it’s not working.

According to a Washington Post–ABC News poll released over the weekend, Clinton holds a 46 percent to 41 percent edge over Trump among likely voters. Her dominance grows among registered voters—45 percent to 35 percent. That advantage is largely unchanged from previous polls.

But both candidates are struggling to generate widespread enthusiasm for their own messages, trading instead on antipathy toward their opponent. Just 46 percent of Trump supporters and 33 percent of Clinton supporters say they are “very enthusiastic” about their candidate.

In that sense, the race hasn’t changed much in the last four months. And with less than two months to go until Election Day, a major shift seems unlikely.