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There is a singular truth about the 2016 presidential election that few are willing to talk about. Even within his own party, Republicans don’t believe that Donald Trump will win the White House.

A Washington Post telling of the scene at a recent fundraiser illustrated the GOP’s lack of confidence in their nominee:

At an intimate fundraiser Wednesday for Rep. Joseph J. Heck (R-Nev.), who is running for the Senate, McConnell asked the group of about a dozen supporters how many of them think Trump can win. About half of the attendees raised their hands. But when McConnell then asked how many thought Trump would win, no hands went up, and the room fell silent, according to a person familiar with the scene who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a closed event.

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The Republican attitude about Trump can be boiled down to the answers to two questions. Can he win? Maybe. Will he win? Republicans solidly believe that he won’t.

To be fair, Trump appears to be actively campaigning to undermine the confidence of Republicans, but it is a stark commentary on the state of the presidential race when a political party has so little faith in their own nominee. Donald Trump has a puncher’s chance of winning because he is one of the two major party nominees, but the reality is that even the Republican Party doesn’t think that he will be the next President Of The United States.