In the final hours of one the most polarizing U.S. presidential campaigns in recent history, conservative political commentator Conrad Black is abandoning his prediction that Republican nominee Donald Trump will āmop the floorā with his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton in the race for the White House.
The former media mogul has defended the bombastic New York billionaire throughout a rocky campaign fraught with allegations of sexual assault, lewd remarks about women, and racially charged comments regarding Mexicans and Muslims.
that, "(Trump) wins. You can't stop him in the Republican Party, and he will mop the floor with (Clinton) -- she's got too much hanging." He backed away from that call in his latest Power Play appearance on Tuesday, saying while Trump still has āgot a good chance,ā he believes Clinton has the upper hand with ā60-40ā odds in her favour.
āIt will come down to a couple of states,ā he said, āThis argument that she (Clinton) is going to get 320 or 340 electoral votes is bunk in my opinion.ā
Black has said that while Trumpās comments are ārather garish at timesā he should be lauded for not having a role in the past 15 years of U.S. government marked by āeconomic stagnation, millions of people dropping out of the workforce, an open southern border, ridiculous wars, terrible trade deficits ā¦. (and) doubling the national debt to get one per cent economic growth.ā
Black also downplayed concerns that Trump and his supporters would mount a challenge against a clear win by Clinton.
A Nevada judge rejected Trump's request for records from a Las Vegas polling place on Tuesday amid allegations that voters were allowed to cast early ballots after a deadline last week. Many political observers saw the request by Trump as a move to lay the groundwork to contest the election result.
āAll these scenarios about contesting the election or clashes of groups of supporters of the two are complete rubbish. That doesnāt happen in the U.S. When the election is over, no matter how close they are ā¦ the country pulls together behind the new leader, at least for a time,ā he said. āThese anticipations of apocalypse are simply not well founded.ā
Black expects both Clinton and Trump will be āsober and reasonableā after the 18-month campaign draws to a close, regardless of the electionās outcome.
He noted that while Trumpās āpolemical pyrotechnics served a purposeā during his campaign, he would be āsurprisingly moderateā if he were to win.
