[Hoot Gibson]

If you are a Trump supporter who only believes polls that show Trump winning, then you may just want to ignore the article below. If you supporting Trump only because you believe that he is the lesser of two evils and you are among the 51 percent of Republicans who prefer somebody else as the nominee, then maybe this poll is not such bad news.

The GOP establishment is applying heavy pressure on delegates bound to Trump on the first ballot not to abstain or vote their conscience. If Trump continues trailing Clinton in the national polls and continues his miserable fundraising performance, more delegates may find the backbone to vote for somebody who has a better chance of defeating her in November.

It probably won't happen, but nobody likes to be saddled up on a loser in a horse race or bet on the losing horse.

Donald Trump breaks a record, and it's not a good one

Donald Trump enjoys pushing boundaries – though he is unlikely to brag about pushing this one.

Gallup reports that Trump is more disliked than any general election candidate in the last 60 years. Even Barry Goldwater at his lowest point was not viewed as negatively as Trump is now. The polling organization’s latest survey looked not just at whether people view a candidate favorably or unfavorably, but to what extent.

Participants grade the candidate’s appeal on a 10-point scale. Forty-two percent of those surveyed gave Trump either the lowest or second-lowest possible rating. It was a record for Gallup, though Trump was not alone in besting Goldwater there. Clinton had 33% of voters giving her such low grades, which far exceeds the 26% Goldwater received at his low point in 1964.

But where Trump excelled in record setting was the total number of people who found him unfavorable to at least some extent. For every two people who view him positively, another three view him negatively. Clinton about breaks even, just as Goldwater did on the Gallup “scalometer” back in 1964.

It’s worth noting, though, that such dubious distinctions hardly stand out the way they did when Goldwater set records. Voters were far less likely to express a dim view of candidates then. Dwight Eisenhower received rock-bottom favorability scores from just 4% of voters in 1956. Lyndon B. Johnson and John F. Kennedy got the lowest scores from just 5% of voters in the elections that followed.