Your point is well taken, but candidates need to win nomination FIRST. 40% in a field of dozen candidates is fantastic. Observing how fast Trump shut down Hillary’s war on women meme, I am not worried about Trump versus Hillary in general.
If Trump is half as smart as you must think he is, or a quarter of his own estimation, then he will anticipate and shift his tone to reasoned statesman before his open sewer sound bites and taunting routine stop working. His comment today about shooting somebody in downtown Manhattan and not losing a single vote might be the peak and it says even he’s amazed at how well the act has worked so far. Trump more than anyone must know there comes a time in every deal when you have to shift from the sell to the close. We’ll see in the coming weeks just how good his timing and instincts are.