[Hoot Gibson]

As you say, there are a number of sources out there making the case that a majority of Republicans do not support Trump or who will not vote for him. All I can tell you is that has not been my experience, that is the majority of people I speak to, would vote for him. From all that I can understand , the level of contempt for Mr Trump is substantially less a factor than is being reported. If there is one thing I have learned it is that one must consider the source. And call them Independents, Reagan Democrats, or crossover voters, Trump has a huge draw. Though I believe the nitwits who are waging a top down campaign against Trump will to some degree stymie the surge of those who want to come under the big tent.

I predicted this whole mess well before it revealed itself in practical terms. But I am still shocked at the level of hypocrisy that establishment elitists and core conservative media have shown to the world. Or that they would open facedly spend 10's of millions of dollars against their own nominee front runner.

Unless the information I'm looking at is wrong, Cruz has averaged 29% of the vote. He only got 43.8% in his home state of Texas. Therefore, using the logic I have seen across the media, 71% of the voting public disapproves of Ted Cruz. I know that is not true, but they're still making the same calculation with regard to Trump.

The information that you are quoting is not wrong, but I believe that you are misinterpreting it. Cruz has always been the second choice of most supporters of other candidates. Cruz failed to break 50 percent in Texas because Rubio actively campaigned there and won 17.7 percent in a five-way race.

Cruz narrowly lost Missouri, North Carolina, Louisiana and Kentucky because he split conservative votes with Rubio. Cruz has picked up the support of the overwhelming majority of Rubio supporters since Rubio dropped out of the race. The latest Utah poll has Cruz at 53 percent and Trump at 11 percent - not surprising after Trump suggested that Romney is no a real Mormon.

Trump's unfavorable rating is the highest Gallup has ever measured in a presidential candidate. That is not a calculation, it is the result of multiple polls over time. Trump's electability problems are not the result of a GOP top down campaign - they are self inflicted and his unfavorable rating is trending upward.

Trump's support is much stronger in Appalachia than it is in most of this country, so I think the fact that most of the people you speak to would vote for Trump is not a very good indicator of his popularity. If you lived in northern Virginia, you would have a hard time finding a Trump supporter, but he does great in the southwestern part of the state.

The Republican nominee should have no problem winning the White House this fall, but Trump will have an uphill battle on his hands if he wins the nomination. You and other Trump supporters are greatly underestimating the hatred that Trump has generated among those who are not supporting him in the primaries. If Trump gets the nomination, I predict that the Libertarian Party will have its best showing ever.