In 1966, John Lennon famously declared that he and the Beatles were “more popular than Jesus,” adding “I don’t know which will go first, rock ‘n’ roll or Christianity.”
The remark was pretty brazen — probably more so than a comment made today by GOP front-runner Donald Trump, who told a rally in Sioux Center, Iowa, earlier today that “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue [in New York City] and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters. It’s, like, incredible.”
The comment, which was obviously hyperbole, is just the latest outrageous observation to trip off the tongue of Trump, who in the latest CBS/New York Times poll has a double-digit leader over his closest rival, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. But he may actually be on to something. As Deneen Borelli recently noted, 53% of Democrats say they would vote for Hillary Clinton even if she were indicted — and the chances of that happening seem far greater than the chance that Trump will gun down a pedestrian on the crowded Manhattan thoroughfare.
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As to how Trump’s bombastic claim was received by likely Iowa caucus-goers, CBS News notes that one man dismissed it as “just a figure of speech,” while another said, “Obviously he is not going to go and shoot somebody.”
Let’s hope the Donald doesn’t decide to test out his theory.