The Trump administration’s media spokesman, Fox News, released an extraordinary report on Monday, titled: “The harsh stretch of the poll has Republican Party agents asking: Could Trump withdraw?”
“A mediocre stretch of polls for President Trump has some Republican agents nervous about the president’s reelection prospects in November, and some are even raising the possibility for the first time that Trump may withdraw if his poll numbers do not rebound,” he says. the report, released by the network previously focused on Trump, which in recent months has increasingly drawn the president’s ire.
“It is too early, but if the polls continue to worsen, you can see a scenario in which it is withdrawn,” an agent said.
“I heard the talk but I doubt it’s true,” said another. “My bet is that it falls if you think there is no way to win.”
Trump poll numbers have shifted south amid months of criticism of the White House’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, as well as recent and devastating reprimands of its response to nationwide protests following the death of George Floyd in police custody.
Ahead of Trump’s disastrous rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a national Fox News poll showed the president lost 12 points to suspected Democratic opponent Joe Biden. Another Fox poll after that rally showed that Trump, in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina, claims that he cannot afford to lose.
Biden has also consistently led Trump in polls for many key battlefield states, such as Michigan and Pennsylvania, and the two are practically linked in Texas, usually deep red.
In response to the Fox News report, the Trump campaign denied the candidate dropped out of the race, criticizing the right-leaning network’s methodology for allegedly beating Republicans.
“This is the grandfather of fake news,” campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh told the network in a statement.
“Everyone knows that media polls have always been wrong about President Trump (they underestimate Republicans and don’t select potential voters) to set up false narratives. It won’t work. There was similar concern in 2016 and if it had been accurate, Hillary Clinton would be in the White House right now, “he said.
The Trump campaign released a memorandum on Sunday questioning the rumors, recapitulating those arguments, and saying that the “mainstream media” reports of the polls were “funded by its own operations and others” to support a preconceived narrative. .
“These are legitimate criticisms, as there are real differences between public polls and internal polls of their own, as the campaign runs on its own,” the statement said.
But Trump’s internal polls have allegedly also caused problems, not only for the president but also for campaign manager Brad Parscale, whom Trump reportedly threatened to sue due to bad numbers.
A year ago, the campaign fired its pollsters after internal numbers showed it behind Biden.
Trump has promoted Fox polls when his numbers are favorable, but he criticizes the network when it falls short. In recent months, he has been sour on the net overall, demanding an “alternative,” as Fox News reports reflect an increasingly grim political reality.
“@FoxNews just does not understand what is happening! They are being fed with Democratic talking points, and playing them without hesitation or investigation,” Trump tweeted in April. “They forgot that Fake News @CNN and MSDNC would not allow @FoxNews to participate, even slightly, in the poor scores in the Democratic Debates.”
“People who are watching @FoxNews, in record numbers (thanks President Trump), are angry. They want an alternative now. Me too!” He wrote.
