Hillary Clinton is losing interest in accommodating demands from far-left rival Sen. Bernard Sanders because she feels emboldened by the faltering of GOP nominee Donald Trump, a Democratic Party insider said Thursday.
Mr. Trump’s dip in polls following the Orlando terror attack has convinced the Clinton campaign that they can steamroll over Mr. Sanders to the July convention in Philadelphia, said a Democratic source familiar with the thinking at Clinton headquarters.
“Everything in the Clinton campaign is driven by polls,” said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. “The degree to which Trump has slumped is the degree to which Bernie has lost his bargaining power, and Hillary is going to do whatever the hell she wants.”
The waning influence of Mr. Sanders could signal that Mrs. Clinton, the likely Democratic nominee, will return to the political center for the general election campaign and target Republican voters alienated by Mr. Trump.
The former first lady, senator and secretary of state had been wooing Mr. Sanders for his endorsement in hopes of unifying the party after a bruising primary battle.
Mr. Sanders, a self-described Democratic Socialist who sparked a political revolution within the Democratic Party, plans to address the future of his campaign in a video statement Thursday evening.
A new Reuters poll showed Mrs. Clinton opening up a 9-point lead over Mr. Trump, 41 percent to 32 percent, in a theoretical general election matchup.
Other polls have shown a closer race. But a Bloomberg poll earlier in the week gave Mrs. Clinton a 12-point advantage over Mr. Trump. That’s her biggest lead over the real estate tycoon in any poll since April.
After the deadly attack in Orlando by a gunman linked to the Islamic State, Mr. Trump suffered a new wave of criticism for doubling down on his proposed temporary ban on Muslims entering the U.S.
He also was slammed for questioning whether President Obama sympathizes with terrorists because of his weak response to the attack and refusal to use the term “radical Islam.”
The criticism of Mr. Trump came from Republican officials as well as from Democrats. Mr. Trump said Wednesday that GOP officials should be quiet and let him run his campaign as he sees fit.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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