Even Democrats Think Clinton Dishonest

Despite her current lead over Donald Trump in national and swing-state polls, Hillary Clinton continues to be viewed as untrustworthy — even the vast majority of voters in her own party find her dishonest.

A new NBC News/SurveyMonkey Weekly Election Tracking poll showed the Democratic presidential nominee led Trump by nine points at 50 percent to 41 percent. But in spite of her 9-point lead, Clinton remains defined by negative perceptions about her character. A scant 12 percent of Democrats found Clinton honest and trustworthy in the survey.

No matter what she does, Clinton consistently has shown an inability to shake off the perceptions of her inauthenticity.

The poll also found only 39 percent of Democrats believe she has the temperament to serve as commander-in-chief – which is ironic, since Clinton has grown fond of bashing Trump on his own temperament.

“He’s not just unprepared – he’s temperamentally unfit to hold an office that requires knowledge, stability, and immense responsibility,” Clinton said during a speech in San Diego, California, last month.

Fortunately for Clinton, her party is unified behind her only because of its opposition to Republican nominee Donald Trump. But the Clinton-distrust factor is still causing Democrats in tight, down-ballot races to tread carefully.

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In an embarrassing interview with CNN’s Manu Raju that aired Tuesday, Democratic New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan declined three times to answer whether or not she viewed Clinton as “honest and trustworthy” when asked point-blank.

“I support Hillary Clinton for the presidency because her experience and her record demonstrate that she’s qualified to hold the job,” Hassan finally answered.

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When Raju pressed her to comment on whether Clinton was just “honest,” Hassan responded, “She has a critical plan, among others, for making college more affordable.”

When Raju tried again, this time asking Hassan if Clinton was just “trustworthy,” Hassan said, “I think that she has demonstrated a commitment always to something beyond herself – bigger than herself.”

Ouch.

But while Clinton may remain unable to shake negative perceptions of her character among rank and file Democrats and ordinary Americans, she is still the prohibitive favorite among at least one demographic — Washington insiders.

A poll released Tuesday from Echelon Insights for the Washington Examiner showed that Clinton earns a whopping 62 percent of the Washington elite’s support. Donald Trump earned just 22 percent support from the poll of Beltway insiders.