Dawn. Com, Washington :For the first time in the ongoing presidential campaign, Republican outsider Donald Trump has moved ahead of the leading Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in popularity, according to an opinion poll.A new Washington Post/ABC News poll shows Mr Trump leading Mrs Clinton 46 per cent to 44 per cent among registered voters. That’s an 11 per cent swing against Mrs Clinton since March.Another poll, by NBC News and Wall Street Journal, shows Mrs Clinton at 46 per cent to Mr Trump’s 43 per cent. Previously she led 50 per cent to 39 per cent.In the latest Real Clear Politics average, she is two-tenths of a point behind Mr Trump.Poll results have also affected Mr Trump’s media coverage. Previously, the US media depicted him as a megalomaniac and narcissist who endorsed violence and racism and could lead the country to a disaster if elected. But now the media has begun to describe him as a more serious politician with a real possibility to make it to the White House after the Nov 6, 2016 election.The change happened within a month. Until mid-April, Mrs Clinton had a big lead in national polls.Explaining the change, the New York Times noted that “Mr Trump has made gains in unifying his party’s base, while Mrs Clinton has not done the same with hers. If anything, her problem with voters of Bernie Sanders has gotten a bit worse”.ABC News noted that Mr Trump’s “enhanced competitiveness reflects consolidation in his support since his primary opponents dropped out, and it comes despite significant challenges to his candidacy”.Mrs Clinton leads among women, non-white voters, college graduates and voters between the ages of 18 and 39 years. Mr Trump leads among men, white voters, voters without a college degree and all voters over 40 years old.In the ABC poll most of the registered voters who plan to vote for Mr Trump say they mainly oppose Mrs Clinton than actually support the New York businessman.By comparison, the registered voters who plan to vote for Mrs Clinton are split over whether or not their vote is a result of their support for the former secretary of state or their opposition to Mr Trump.Mrs Clinton’s allies, however, blame it on Mr Sanders. They say that the long primary fight between the two, which looks like it could go all the way to the Democratic convention in Philadelphia, has taken a toll on Mrs Clinton’s standing in the polls.”I don’t think he realises the damage he’s doing at this point,” one Clinton ally told The Hill, a congressional news outlet.Protests outside Trump rally in New Mexico turn violentAP, ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICOProtests outside a Donald Trump rally in New Mexico turned violent on Tuesday night as demonstrators threw burning T-shirts, plastic bottles and other items at police officers, overturned trash cans and knocked down barricades.Police responded by firing pepper spray and smoke grenades into the crowd outside the Albuquerque Convention Center.During the rally, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee was interrupted repeatedly by protesters, who shouted, held up banners and resisted removal by security officers.The banners included the messages “Trump is Fascist” and “We’ve heard enough.”At one point, a female protester was physically dragged from the stands by security. Other protesters scuffled with security as they resisted removal from the convention Centre, which was packed with thousands of loud and cheering Trump supporters.Trump responded with his usual bluster, instructing security to remove the protesters and mocking their actions by telling them to “Go home to mommy.”He responded to one demonstrator by asking, “How old is this kid?” Then he provided his own answer: “Still wearing diapers.”The altercations left glass at the entrance of the convention centre smashed.During the rally, protesters outside overran barricades and clashed with police in riot gear. They also burned T-shirts and other items labelled with Trump’s catchphrase, “Make America Great Again.”Tuesday marked Trump’s first stop in New Mexico, the nation’s most Hispanic state. Gov. Susana Martinez, head of the Republican Governors Association and the nation’s only Latina governor, has harshly criticized his remarks on immigrants and has attacked his proposal to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The governor did not attend the rally and has yet to make an endorsement.Trump read off a series of negative statistics about the state, including an increase in the number of people on food stamps.
