While many Republicans have previously insisted that Trump's rhetoric and behavior was only a strategy for the primaries, Trump has been repeatedly proving them wrong on a regular basis through a series of controversial Tweets and comments at rallies that have been continuing even weeks after he officially secured the Republican nomination at the Republican National Convention. An increasing number of not just Republican voters, as proven in various polls, but also high profile Republican officials, are embracing the Never Trump movement by embracing either the Democratic Nominee, Hillary Clinton, or the Libertarian Nominee, Gary Johnson.
One of the biggest blows to Trump included the fact that only one former Republican nominee, Bob Dole, who lost against Bill Clinton in his 1996 reelection bid, attended the convention. The two only living Republican Presidents, George Bush 41 and George Bush 43, did not attend. 2008 Nominee John McCain and 2012 nominee Mitt Romney, did not attend.
Besides bullying Jeb Bush on the campaign trail, he managed to insult both George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush by expressing "The last thing we need is another Bush in the White House". He insulted John McCain for being a prisoner of war by telling an interviewer, "He's not a war hero...He's a war hero because he was captured, I like people who weren't captured." Mitt Romney also fell victim to Trump's insults for the simple fact of losing his 2012 campaign against President Obama's reelection bid.
Recently, another demonstration that the Republican Party remains divided because of Trump's rhetoric even after the conclusion of the convention includes a letter against Trump signed by 50 Republican National Security Officials. Those officials include a former CIA and NSA Director, former Secretaries of Homeland Security during the Bush Administration, a former Secretary of Defense, a Deputy Secretary of State and a former director of national intelligence, a top national security advisor to former VP Cheney, a former Deputy Secretary of State who also serves as a U.S. Trade Rep and President of the World Bank.
As Clinton received a higher post convention boost than Trump, she now holds a significant lead over him. With debates coming up in over a month, a number of Republicans are throwing their support behind Johnson in hopes that he can get the 15% mark in the polls that he needs to secure a spot in the debates with Clinton and Trump.
President Obama now once again holds a majority approval rating with an improving economy that holds a low 4.9% unemployment rate as 255,000 jobs were creating in the month of July. While Obama's administration witnessed one of the longest job growth streaks in history, that was briefly disrupted for the month of June largely due to the Verizon workers going on strike.
Now with Trump Taj Majal strikers making the most recent headlines since having their benefits cut, the casino that bears Trump's name is set to close in September due to "No path to profitability", another blow to Donald Trump. Now the question remains of whether Trump and his campaign can recover from this series of events within a timespan of three months.
