Bloomberg Hosts Receive Praise From Donald Trump After Attributing His Polling Surge To His Xenophobic Message

Trump: “They Truly Get Why 'Trump' Poll Numbers Are High”

Written by Nicholas Rogers

Published

Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump lauded Bloomberg's Mark Halperin and John Heilemann on Twitter for their political analysis on his recent polling surge in New Hampshire. In their report, the co-hosts attribute much of Trump's success to the appeal of his “xenophobic” message to the far right constituency.

On the June 24 edition of Bloomberg's With All Due Respect, Mark Halperin and John Heilemann attribute Donald Trump's recent success, polling second among GOP presidential candidates in New Hampshire. During their analysis, the co-hosts agreed that there are some in New Hampshire that are “begging” for Trump's “somewhat xenophobic” message.

HALPERIN: Trump himself told me and others that when he got -- when people believed he'd run, his numbers would do better. That's why he wasn't doing well in polling. I'm not sure that's exactly right. Yes, it's name ID, but it's also the case, as we've discussed, he has a following and he's been to New Hampshire plenty. He's been more than some of the other so-called more serious candidates and I think people underestimate the extent to which as he drives a message, there are going to be people who support him. I'm not sure he'll get ten percent of the vote in the end.  But, for now, I'm not the least bit surprised he's at ten percent.

HEILEMANN: He's got to stop wearing that blue blazer when he drives off the first tee, that's not a good look for golf. But, I gotta say, you and I are both old enough and crotchety enough to remember 1996 and Pat Buchanan in New Hampshire. There is a core in the New Hampshire electorate on the Republican side that is begging for this message, this somewhat xenophobic, populist --

HALPERIN: Kick the establishment in the face.

HEILEMANN: protectionist,

HALPERIN: or somewhere lower

HEILEMANN: And I say, somewhat xenophobic. All that stuff. That's Pat Buchanan with more interesting hair. That's all that is.

Donald Trump later praised Halperin and Heilemann's analysis of his polling surge, tweeting that they “truly get why 'Trump' poll numbers are high”: