If his populist message boosts turnout and margins with working class white voters high enough in the Rust Belt and Upper Midwest, he could win even while alienating black and Latino voters. “You could see a situation where someone like Trump could carry Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin, maybe Pennsylvania,” he said. “That starts to put a real dent in the Democratic coalition.”

While Trump’s offensive language is undoubtedly a huge liability in a general election, it’s also a dangerous weapon. He’s already accused Bill Clinton of being a sexual abuser, an attack no other candidate is likely to level at the former president and one that some observers think contributed to Hillary Clinton’s drop in polls in the beginning of the year.

The attack on Bill Clinton seemed to unsettle the former secretary of state’s campaign. After spending months blasting Trump without hesitation, Hillary Clinton suddenly had nothing to say about him….

People familiar with the Clinton campaign’s thinking say they’re confident she can beat Trump – but that the race would likely to be much uglier and potentially more damaging than against another nominee. People are “insane” if they think this will be a walkover, one pro-Clinton operative said.