A recently released Rasmussen poll shows that 57 percent of likely Republican voters think that Trump will snag the nomination, the Hill reports. This number has increased by 30 percent since Trump descended that golden escalator and insulted millions of Mexicans within the first few minutes of his presidential run.

I want to say that this poll supports my long-held suspicion that Republicans are ironically polling for Trump partly to see how far this thing goes, and partly in protest to the sheer number of unelectable candidates with which they've been presented. It's the same impulse behind polling for Deez Nuts. It's a critique of the process, the politics, and the pageantry of running for the presidency, not an earnest gesture of support.

But the past few weeks have made it seem as if the Republicans are actively trying to lose the presidential election.

After Trump called for the mass deportation of all undocumented immigrants and the end of birthright citizenship, other candidates (Scott Walker, Bobby Jindal, Lindsey Graham, and Rand Paul) rushed to adjust their platforms to match. And Jeb!, though he "broke" with his rivals on this issue, used the red-friendly language of "constitutionality" to support the idea that people born in this country should be considered citizens, despite the fact that many who hold that view are descended from immigrants themselves.

And then there was the moment when two Trump supporters urinated on and viciously beat a man who they thought was an undocumented worker. In response, Trump said he wouldn't condone the violence, but he admitted that their lunacy was spurred, in part, by their passion to "make America great again."

Judging by these new poll numbers, it seems as if Republicans have given up on trying to court Latinos, whose votes they need to win. They're willing to bet that they can make up the difference by drawing in the kind of voter who's attracted to bloated, xenophobic assmouths.

But given this new poll, and given the fact that he's still beating his next closest competitor (Jeb!) by double digits in national polls, does Trump reeeeeeeeally stand a chance at being the nominee? I mean, people have been destroying his effigy with bats all summer.

Ultimately, the party decides who they're going to choose to represent them. One good way of measuring where the party's at is by looking at early endorsements given by elected officials. Right now, Trump has 12 endorsements. Discounting his relatives and people from his own state (they don't help him much), Jeb! has 53. (On the other side, Clinton has hundreds to Bernie's handful.)

So, all seems to be going according to plan. And yet, I'm reminded that I'm dealing with King Shit of Primary Campaign Mountain, a Loki figure. Trump doesn't need the party to run for president. If the Republican political establishment shuts him out, they risk making him feel cheated, which might fuel his independent run.