http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/21/world/americas/donald-trump-the-unsinkable-candidate.html 2016-09-20 11:04:58 Donald Trump, the Unsinkable Candidate Many of Mr. Trump’s remarks would have seriously damaged other candidates, but he has remained popular in spite of accusations of racism and graft. === This American presidential election is a dizzying wonder: a torrent of outrages, gaffes and prime-time dramas, where one story blurs into the next, most of it driven by the Republican contender, With such a ferocious pace it’s easy to lose sight of the details, especially when it comes to Mr. Trump. So here’s a quick summary of what voters have learned in recent weeks. ■ The attorney general of New York has ■ Reporters have uncovered evidence that Mr. Trump ■ There have been new accounts of widespread ■ Last Friday, he finally admitted that “birtherism” — the racially tinged smear of President Obama he repeated for five years — In a conventional race, any of these revelations, slanders or gaffes might be enough to torpedo a candidate. Not Mr. Trump. A New York Times/CBS News She remains the outright favorite, thanks to an electoral system that is based on state-by-state results. Still, her supporters have reason for concern. According to my colleagues at Mrs. Clinton’s Achilles heel is well known: A majority of Americans neither like nor trust her. If Mr. Trump is Telfon, Mrs. Clinton must be Velcro: Every transgression, real or perceived, from her decades-long career in politics stubbornly sticks to her. When it comes to Mr. Trump, though, his enduring popularity is a mystery. Mr. Trump was among the first to note his ability to defy the laws of political gravity. “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and What’s remarkable now is how, after months of withering scrutiny — including accusations of graft, malfeasance and racism — he remains apparently immune to the effects of negative news. This is a conundrum that has perplexed many New York Times readers who live abroad. “Trump has sleaze written all over his face and behavior,” Neil Douglas, a retired teacher from Canada, wrote in an email that echoed a common sentiment. “Why can’t Americans see through his braggadocio?” In other countries, and other campaigns, politicians have been derailed by much less. In 2014, the British culture secretary, Maria Miller, American congressional candidates have also been wrecked by ill-judged comments: In 2012, Yet in choosing their president, many American voters seem prepared to accept nearly anything Mr. Trump says or does. He has praised the Russian leader, Vladimir V. Putin, and invited foreign He has aired crackpot conspiracy theories, such as one He has defended the size of his penis, and suggested gun owners might take matters It can go wrong for Mr. Trump, a self-regarding former reality TV star, as demonstrated by his undignified feud with the family of Capt. Humayun Khan, a fallen Muslim American soldier — a confrontation that appeared to mark the For now, Mr. Trump appears to be wearing down his critics’ capacity for outrage. Protests still occur at his campaign rallies, like the one in North Carolina last week when a 69-year-old woman was In part, Mr. Trump’s endurance is a product of sheer churn — the endless stream of his own provocations. “There’s been so many scandals, so much outrage, that it’s hard to focus on any one of them,” said Charlie Sykes, a conservative talk show host and Trump critic. Mr. Sykes turned on Mr. Trump because he said that the candidate was damaging true conservatism. These days, that frequently brings him into conflict with callers to his own show, who refuse to countenance any criticism of Mr. Trump. “They don’t want to hear it,” he said. “They want their biases confirmed.” That points to another underlying theme of this election: the vicious polarization of America’s news media. More voters than ever are getting their news from the walled gardens of Facebook and other social media sites, where like-minded views often reinforce one another. And on mainstream channels like Fox News, conspiracy theories that were once limited to the fringes of the internet are getting an airing. As a result, public trust in the media has collapsed. A Gallup poll On Sunday night, Mr. Obama Can any story, or revelation, hurt Mr. Trump’s Teflon qualities at this stage? Mr. Sykes, the radio host, said he believed Mr. Trump had fostered a “cult of personality” among conservatives that has few parallels in the history of American politics, “except maybe in fiction.” “It doesn’t matter what he says, or what his ideas are,” Mr. Sykes said. “It’s about the persona. He’s the strong man. And he’s apparently figured out a way to bond with millions of Americans.” With seven weeks until the vote, Mrs. Clinton needs to find a way to break that bond. Her next opportunity could come at the first presidential debate, on Sept. 26, at Hofstra University on Long Island. Mr. Trump may ultimately do the work for her: His bluster, lies and insults could eventually drag him down. But to ensure victory, Mrs. Clinton will also need to overcome her handicap. The high levels of voter distrust, unique in a modern presidential front-runner, leave her vulnerable.