Washington Free Beacon Editor-in-Chief Matthew Continetti appeared Monday on America's Newsroom, where he discussed shadow voters and his piece that the 2016 election is Donald Trump's race to lose.
BILL HEMMER: One in 10 voters who cast their ballot in November are said to be voting for the first time in years. That's according to Reuters polling. Who is their pick? Many of the so-called 'lost voters' say they have found their voice in Donald Trump. Matthew Continetti is the editor-in-chief of the Washington Free Beacon. Welcome back here to America's Newsroom. Here is what Reuters found, new Republican independent voters support for Trump among new voters, 27.3 percent. That's the figure. What's a lost voter?
MATTHEW CONTINETTI: A lost voter, Bill, is a voter, maybe Republican, maybe independent, maybe even a Democrat, who has felt detached from the political process over the last two decades. They were supporters of Ross Perot in '92. They were supporters of Pat Buchanan in '92, '96 and now it seems like they're leaning heavily towards Trump because of his positions on trade, because of his positions on immigration, and even I think because of his positions on foreign policy. Kind of a repudiation of the Bush-Romney years in the GOP.
HEMMER: You wrote on Friday, right, it is Donald Trump's race to lose. That's your piece, right?CONTINETTI: That's my piece.HEMMER: —And there are only four people who can stop him. Who are they?CONTINETTI: Well, at the top list is Ted Cruz. We heard from Carl Cameron, it is really coming down to a Cruz-Trump race in Iowa and New Hampshire. You have two other more establishment picks in Chris Christie and Marco Rubio, who if they place well in New Hampshire could make it a three-way race. Finally, the fourth and final person who can possibly stop Donald Trump is a Democrat, Hillary Clinton, because the way I see the race going now it is Trump's to lose. Doesn't mean he can't or even won't lose it but it does mean that he's going to have to be challenged somehow. Right now on the Republican side, Cruz is challenging him.HEMMER: If you admit these voters show up, and that is why you play the game, right? Ten days, two weeks from now. Politico over the weekend had an intriguing piece. I don't know if you agree with this, but on screen it says this: Trump's staying power has been buoyed above all by Americans because of the prevalence of authoritarians in the American electorate, among Democrats as well as Republicans it's very possible that Trump's fan base will continue to grow. Interpret that, do you agree?CONTINETTI: I think a lot of it is psychobabble, authoritarian inclinations. I don't know what that means, how they define the term. What I do know, if you talk to Trump supporters they like him because he is a strong leader and not afraid to say what is on his mind. When you ask how will he run the government, the voters say he will hire the right people. For those reasons plus policy positions, those disaffected voters are very strong for Trump. The question is, will they show up?HEMMER: Indeed. Matthew, good to have you on from the Washington Free Beacon in our nation's capital. Thanks, we'll talk again.