A panel on NBC’s Today Show agreed Wednesday that it looks bad for Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton to see Donald Trump claim the Republican nomination before she can do the same in her own primary, adding that Clinton may lose to challenger Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) in several remaining primary states.
"The optics for Hillary Clinton this morning [are bad], watching Donald Trump basically claim the nomination while she is still struggling with Bernie Sanders," host Matt Lauer said.
While Trump rolled to a win in Indiana Tuesday, Clinton had a less successful night, losing the Hoosier State to Sanders (I., Vt.), a self-declared socialist who has given the former first lady a tougher fight than she expected in the primary process.
"And it could get worse for her," MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki said in response. "You look at the states coming up: Oregon, Kentucky, West Virginia. There are a number of states coming up this month where I think he is probably going to beat her."
Kornacki added that Sanders could also beat Clinton in liberal California, the state with the highest number of delegates in the country.
"It doesn‘t mean [Sanders] wins the nomination, but that’s not the way you want to be ending a primary process," he added.
Trump become the GOP’s presumptive nominee after a big win in the Indiana primary, with Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus calling for the party to unite behind the real estate mogul.
Trump’s main challenger, Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas), suspended his presidential campaign after losing Indiana. Ohio Gov. John Kasich remains in the race, but he has only won his home state in the primary process.
Clinton is leading Trump in head-to-head polling by 6.2 points, according to a Real Clear Politics average from last month, and has a 13-point edge in a new CNN/ORC poll.