Trump still leads polls: What's behind his appeal?

With just three days to go before the first Republican debate of the 2016 campaign, Donald Trump is leading a poll of GOP presidential contenders, according to CBS News. 

Donald Trump continues to be the top choice of Republicans for 2016, as the party braces itself for its first debate on Thursday, a new poll shows.

The real estate tycoon comfortably leads the pack, with 24 percent of Republicans voters’ support, according to a CBS News poll released Tuesday. Trailing Trump are former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, with 13 percent, and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, with 10 percent.

Why is Trump leading in the polls? CBS News reports that Trump, “appears to have tapped into public anger toward Washington: he holds a large lead among Republican primary voters who say they are angry.”

As Trumps surge in the polls continues to confound many, it is clear that his in-your-face demeanor is winning over Republican voters. The poll finds "79 percent of Republican primary voters say Trump says what he believes, rather than what people want to hear, far higher than the other candidates tested.” 

“Trump's wealth could be a positive when it comes to money and politics,” according to CBS News. “Voters nationwide are more inclined to prefer a candidate who uses their own personal wealth to fund their campaign (28 percent), rather than one who raises money through donations (13 percent).”

It has been a fast, steady rise for Trump. In late June, shortly after Trump officially announced his candidacy, just eleven percent of GOP primary voters named him as their first choice. 

His surge comes despite his controversial remarks about illegal immigration and America's relationship with Mexico which has tarnished him in the eyes of Hispanics.

Maybe the fact that he is new to the electoral politics is alluring to Republican voters. Op-ed columnist, David Brooks points out, “he’s an outsider, which appeals to the alienated. He’s confrontational, which appeals to the frustrated. And, in a unique 21st-century wrinkle, he’s a narcissist who thinks he can solve every problem, which appeals to people who in challenging times don’t feel confident in their understanding of their surroundings and who crave leaders who seem to be.”

George Washington University political scientist John Sides, in The Monkey Cage blog at the Washington Post, says that persistent media coverage of Trump has fueled his popularity.

Monitor’s Peter Grier, reports,  "The difference with Trump is that he’s media-savvy enough to actually make this hamster wheel spin faster by himself. Trump feeds more and more insults and outrage into the coverage, generating more interest. He is a troll, in modern Internet parlance."

Will Trumps popularity sizzle or fizzle? Only time will tell.