What would GOP primaries have looked like if the Khan feud happened before Feb.?

[UWS]

What would the 2016 GOP primaries have looked like if the feud between Trump and the Khan family happened before the beginning of the Republican primaries on February 1, 2016?

[Redban]

No difference.

The Republican electorate in the primaries (less than 30% of the actual Republican electorate) is markedly different from the general electorate  that we're observing right now. The Republican electorate -- the people who gave Trump 14 million votes -- wouldn't have cared about this feud with Mr. Khan.

[Rocky Rockefeller]

Trump's would have won with 60% for putting those 'merica hating mooslims in their place

[Mister Mets]

It would have made a difference, I think, partly because it would have combined with the bad publicity of a loss in Iowa. If it had come out earlier in the day, it could have led to a third place finish to Rubio.

[HAnnA MArin County]

No difference.

The Republican electorate in the primaries (less than 30% of the actual Republican electorate) is markedly different from the general electorate  that we're observing right now. The Republican electorate -- the people who gave Trump 14 million votes -- wouldn't have cared about this feud with Mr. Khan.

^^ This.

If anything, it would have increased his numbers going after a Muslim family. As Redban indicated, these new numbers are from a new electorate that's drastically different from the electorate of Republican primary voters who backed Trump so solidly. Trump is still stuck in primary mode and seems to think that his "tell it like it is/say what he means" will always be a benefit, regardless of how controversial or vitriolic his comments and rhetoric are. This new electorate doesn't want to hear him attacking a Muslim family, a Mexican American judge, a disabled reporter, etc. These kinds of things are good for ratings, and that seems to be all Trump cares about, but are not good at winning voters.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

No difference. The "base" was determined to commit political suicide this election.

[Xing]

Like every other inane comment Trump has made, it would have helped him in the GOP primary.

[uti2]

Khan never would've had a platform to attack him in the first place.

[uti2]

No difference. The "base" was determined to commit political suicide this election.

No, the problem is that none of the candidates respected the concerns of the base, so they went with Trump, even Cruz was suspiciously pro-tpp and pro-legal status the second up until Trump entered the race. If the GOP had even offered a compromise candidate respecting some of their concerns in the manner of nixon, they probably would've went with him, but instead, all they had was reagan clones, who had nothing but empty talking points.

[Simfan34]

I think in the PPP poll on this, 41% of Republicans disapproved from Trump's comments vis-a-vis the Khans while 40% approved. That's not too different from Trump's final primary share, so clearly no difference.

A lot of the things he said, that just bounced off him, during the primaries would've been equally if not more damaging than this had they happened now. Calling Mexicans rapists, attacking the Pope, deriding McCain... the primary electorate was just completely out of whack with the rest of the country. As I've been saying, many if not most of them are living in an alternate universe constructed by the conservative media bubble.