GOP strategist says Trump has hit the dreaded 'Velcro' phase

President Donald Trump’s committed bloc of grievance voters has largely made him immune to his stumbles, snafus, overt displays of hate and his seemingly bottomless racism. But there is a limit to what even the most cultlike public is willing to tolerate, and Trump has staggered past it.

Mike Murphy has served as a political strategist for the likes of John McCain, Mitt Romney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Jeb Bush — so he knows when a politician has hit a certain point where everything sticks, and Trump is in it neck deep.

There's kind of a Velcro effect when you start getting down to the 40 percent — let alone 30s—in approval,” said Murphy. “Then everything's your fault because people are already sold on the belief that you're just a screw up.”

"[When] two thirds of the country thinks you're not good at your job. Then, hey, you know, we had five days of thunderstorms — that damn Trump. You know, it just becomes easier for all the bad s—— to stick to you,” Murphy told Bulwark podcaster Tim Miller. “And that's where [Trump] is now.”

Trump’s polling is at historic lows, blowing beneath floors once smashed by unpopular presidents like former president Jimmy Carter, surpassing even presidents who served at the onset of the Great Depression.

When you’ve got numbers like this, Murphy said even cult voters take inventory of their gas and grocery prices. And suddenly irritating issues like unpopular ballrooms and deeply reviled Iran wars become infuriating — and they stay that way. Additionally, other certain overlooked flaws, like Trump’s age, suddenly become more of a factor.

“[There’s] all this talk about Trump's birthday. You know he's gonna turn 80. But he's already 80,” said Murphy. “The birthday is the last day of that year, like you're a one-year-old means you've been one for a year, so he's been 80 for a year and we're going into 81 now. And the crazy old man stuff is really out there and becoming a thing.”

Now that Teflon Trump has edged into “Velcro” Trump, Murphy said Democrats will have a much easier time blasting him with messages that stick just as easily.

“They can do stuff like that and it is gonna resonate as long as they keep some kind of offensive message,” Murphy told Miller.

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