Having cautiously predicted that the Republican’s selection of Donald Trump would be a gift to the Democrats, I never expected the Presidential race to be so close. I underestimated the appeal of the man, liberal America's lacklustre embrace of Hillary Clinton, and especially the media’s tendency to balance what most Britons might see as two utterly unequal nominees.

Now on holiday in the United States, I am hearing directly from American citizens who repudiate Mr. Trump. Though Trump's distance from the Washington and Republican establishment has allowed him to appeal those who feel estranged from political activity, his most recent remarks to dishonour the family of Muslim veteran Humayun Khan may have done irreparable damage to the Republican campaign. A recent McClatchy-Marist poll gave Hillary Clinton a healthy 15 per cent lead over Donald.

But with three months until election day, nothing is certain.

With his protean message, Trump has reached once seemingly disparate groups; social conservatives and supporters of Bernie Sanders, traditional white working class and African Americans. He is the saviour of the ‘haters’. Haters of the status quo, haters of the ‘experts’ who conspired against them. Everyone I spoke to thought Hillary would win, but don’t bet on another victory for the establishment just yet.

The United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union has tainted the view that in the ballot box the majority will opt for the status quo. Brexit may have been decided by a narrow, 52-48 split, but it signifies a 17.4 million strong democratic challenge to the establishment, whose toxic reputation has ballooned. As recently as September 2014, Scotland took the advice of the ‘experts’ and Westminster forces to remain in the UK by a ten per cent margin.

2016 is the year that orthodoxy and professional opinion has been abandoned; Donald Trump has already secured the Republican nomination as the antithesis to his Washington rivals, and the logic is that there is no reason why he couldn't win the presidential election. Jeremy Corbyn triumphed in this way in the Labour leadership election last year, and looks likely to repeat the feat again in September. Experienced, centrist politicians do not seem to deliver in the view of the youngest and poorest in society any more.

Speaking to holidaymakers and residents in Charleston and Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, there is palpable fear of a Trump presidency. Stu, a veteran and retired federal worker from Park City, Utah, will not be voting Republican in 2016, despite being a lifelong conservative. He believes that Trump's propensity for gaffes will only repel more supporters as the reality of election day nears. People “will start to see behind his straight-talking” and contemplate the dangerous, underlying motives.

Donald has secured his party’s backing – for now, having finally endorsed House Speaker Paul Ryan in his upcoming primary challenge – but several are reconsidering. Another resident from Pennsylvania resident backs Hillary, though her brother – a Trump supporter until last week – is an example of another veteran antagonised after repeated betrayals by the Republican candidate, not least last week's Khan episode. Stu anticipates that rather than abstain, right wingers may even vote for Clinton, such is the polarisation that Trump has catalysed. #AnyoneButTrump is still alive and well.

Citizens I spoke to lamented the poor choice in candidates; nobody, however, could fault Clinton's experience and commitment to public service.

Rona, a fitness instructor on Hilton Head, named this as her key attribute. She said that the Clintons “may be entitled but they don't have to do it”. Hillary's gender was mentioned by a Democratic campaign worker, a former dancer living in Charleston, as a weakness. “Even in 2016, I just don't think the South is ready for a female president”. Gender considerations are unlikely to impact the electorate at-large: more crucial is the battle of Clinton and Trump as ‘insider’ against ‘outsider’ at a time when the former has never been more reviled.

Trump can reach beyond that electorate won over by Mitt Romney in 2012 because while Trump possesses social conservatism in abundance, his protectionist economic instincts suggest to the poorest Americans that the Republicans appreciate their existence. But can instinct take Trump to the nomination? Certainly not, in the opinion of the South Carolina voters I met.

Stu hesitated to call him a fascist, but cited the parallel that his populist combination of nationalism, nativism and socialism has with past leaders in Germany, Italy and Austria. It is a feature across the Western European far-right, too, with the Front National in France, Fidesz in Hungary, and Austria’s Freedom Party. Such parties, like Trump, tap into the disillusionment of poor or socially conservative members of society. Stu and Rona agreed that if he can keep on message, appealing to the basic anger of the American electorate, Trump poses the most threatening triumph of their frustration.

The greatest fear in these parts is that of the unknown. American voters know very little about what Donald Trump’s presidency would entail. Responding to an interview by Florida journalist Angelica Savage concerning the women he would have in his cabinet, Trump suggested his daughter Ivanka and even quipped Savage herself. This is indicative of the philosophy of the man – whimsical, impulsive and amateurish.

With three months to November, it seems voters are beginning to think about what the Republican candidate's vitriol means, and his poll numbers are diminishing. Still, the demographics in the U.S. still exist for a Republican to win on massive white support.

A Republican victory could sacrifice the safety of the U.S., and the world, to a demagogue. Fundamentally, this electoral cycle proves that individuals must become politically engaged – voting really matters.

The American citizens I've heard from do not seem to believe Donald Trump's dubious rhetoric, and they would feel less pride in their country with the Republican as Commander-in-Chief. They understand that Hillary Clinton - regardless of ideology - has the expertise to be an effective president.

Whether this tourist-trodden area of South Carolina represents the whole country, however, I am not so sure.

Trump's candidacy appears to be unraveling, based on recent polls, but we must account for the post-Democratic convention bounce for Clinton, and a particularly bad week for Trump. I can still see a close election; the media thrives on the drama and excitement of a deadlocked race.