Trump’s first big problem is obvious: He’s wildly unpopular. Specifically, he’s unpopular with two critical voter groups, women and Hispanics. He needs to earn support from these groups, but all the evidence suggests it will be very difficult for him to do so. Trump is the living manifestation of a chauvinistic, belittling attitude that repels many female voters. And, according to Gallup polling, 77 percent of Hispanics view Trump unfavorably, and it’s not hard to see why.

But the Democrats don’t know how to run against Trump. Maybe they don’t need to. Their plan going forward will be what their plan has always been for the 2016 general election: They will spend more than a billion dollars trying to crush the Republican nominee. The question is, will it be as easy as the Democrats think to finish off Trump, and how much will he help through his own performance and behavior?

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Trump’s negatives today do not guarantee Clinton’s election in November. At least in the Republican universe, Trump has proven to be resilient. Waiting for him to fade has been a mistake. It would be risky for the Clinton camp to assume the electorate in the general election will be so different from GOP primary voters that a majority would never support Trump. Maybe Clinton thinks she can lie low, hide and let Trump take care of himself. But neither Trump nor the media will let that happen.

Trump, as the underdog, is not without some advantages. First, the selfish interest of the news media demands there be a close race. So for the next few months, the media will ensure the race stays competitive and will sustain wall-to-wall coverage of every insult and barb. Much of the media will do Trump’s work for him by simply repeating what he says. He knows how to effectively leverage the media.

Trump doesn’t do policy and poise very well, but policy and poise are boring. The media likes the bile and blood that spews from the Trump campaign, and they will help spread it around. The sooner the race becomes “Shouting Hillary” vs. “Insulting Trump,” the more the media will like it. And, oh by the way, in elections where there are a lot of heat and venom, turnout goes up, not down.

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Another “advantage” Trump has is that nothing is out of bounds for him, there’s no place he won’t go and nothing is too low. Most recently, Trump actually thought a good way to sully Ted Cruz before the Indiana primary would be to push the National Enquirer story that Cruz’s father had some proximity to the JFK assassination. What will he not do? If it hadn’t happened, I would have told you it was impossible for a real candidate to stoop so low.

We can only imagine the outrageous insults and taunts Trump will lob at Clinton, her surrogates, her staff, her contributors, her family and her sympathizers. Nothing and nobody is off-limits, and everybody will tune in to hear the latest. Will Clinton and crew respond in kind? Respond at all? Wait? Wait until when? Before the convention? After the convention? October? Trump will dish it out, he can take it and none of his tactics have caught up with him so far. Trump has high negatives, but elections are relative. He needs only a 50 percent market share against one opponent on one day in November. Clinton’s brand is already sullied, and running against Trump will not be a flattering experience.