Recent national polls show that Trump Biden is moving anywhere from 3 to 10 percentage points, with swinging states like Florida, North Carolina and Pennsylvania increasingly in search. Some Republican donors and outside groups are turning their attention away from the White House to holding on to the Republican majority in the Senate, according to three Republicans close to the White House. Several Trump allies acknowledge that if the election were held today, Trump would likely lose.
“It’s kind of Groundhog Day,” said one Republican near the White House. “You think it’s better, but then it does not.”
Trump’s allies and political advisers acknowledge that the polls on Trump are not great, but insist he can overcome the onslaught. A top official Trump campaign said the campaign focused on its own internal polls, with officials showing that Trump either agrees with or for Biden in the 17 key states that control the campaign. The official declined to offer more specifications.
One political adviser claimed that if Trump could close the gap with Biden to just 4 percentage points in the coming months, he could win – even if by a small margin. The person noted Trump was similarly behind in the polls in August 2016 before being heard in November.
“Trump is better at running backwards than forwards, because it makes him more aggressive. He will not take it as applicable, ”said Dan Eberhart, a leading Trump donor who runs an oil rig. “The lesson in 2016 was often that the media and interviews were wrong, but I throw that line of thought away. The lesson I learned from 2016 was that Trump did not want to lose. He did not want to be a loser, that motivated him. ”
But with only three months to go before the presidential election, several Republicans and administration officials are not sure Trump will be able to pull off another rebellious victory.
The handling of its coronavirus administration has shattered its status with seniors, proponents, voters, independence and women – and if schools do not reopen this fall, it will offer a different illustration of how the US has fallen behind other developed countries. in the fight against the virus.
For months, White House officials have been arguing over how to report on the administration’s coronavirus work – arguing about the best language and discussing the Covid-19-specific briefings. However, officials say the same level of attention has not been applied to the actual solutions associated with fighting a pandemic.
Several current and former senior administration officials said they felt the White House was obsessed with the president’s image at the expense of making meaningful policy decisions – about fighting the virus or successfully cooperating with Congress to to pass another incentive bill.
“They’re so busy with optics right now, but where’s the substance these days?” said one former senior administration official. “Who is working on the policy ideas that we will address in the second term? We are instead too busy with the messages. “
A White House official said assistants are working on the policy process for a second-term agenda, which will include responding to the coronavirus, rebuilding the economy, securing better trade offers and standing up for law and order – all while you continue to push policy priorities through executive orders.
The same aide added that halted negotiations over the Hill are the Democrats’ fault.
Morale in the White House remains low – a throwback, officials say, after the early chaotic days under then-Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, when backbiting time was consumed by officials. These days, decisions are increasingly being made by a small circle of top advisers, such as Jared Kushner, Trump’s sister-in-law; Hope Hicks, the longtime Trump communications officer; and Chief of Staff Mark Meadows – leaving entire offices sidelined in the White House.
The legislature, for example, is largely excluded from the negotiations taking place on Capitol Hill – even though the whole job consists of coordinating with lawmakers and their staff.
Several White House and administration officials have also begun expanding to other Republicans to try to find jobs in the private sector as soon as possible – both because they feel their roles in the White House have diminished and because there is consternation that they need to find new appearances in case Trump loses in November, pushing up the market for Trump-affiliated aides.
“Anyone who underestimates or writes off President Trump does so at his own risk,” said White House Deputy Secretary of State Judd Deere. “The president and his entire administration are focused every day on keeping the promises he has made to the American people, defeating the China virus, opening our economy safely and responsibly, and preparing for a second term.” “It will make America safer, stronger and more prosperous than ever before.”
A campaign official disputed the idea that everyone within his headquarters feels a sense of pessimism about the president’s prospects.
“There are 86 one-day campaigns left in the race, and even fewer if you consider early voting,” said Tim Murtaugh, Trump’s director of communications. “Every day there is a game-day mentality within the campaign. If we win more days than Joe Biden wins, President Trump will be re-elected. It’s as simple as that. ”
Several Trump allies and aides are pleased with the new team leading the campaign, including campaign manager Bill Stepien and senior adviser Jason Miller. Together, the duo brings a tactical knowledge of individual battlefield states, as well as a good sense of how to sell ideas to a mercury Trump.
The Trump campaign has also begun to settle on his message to ridicule Biden, trying to define him as a candidate who will do the left-wing bidding if he wins the White House.
The campaign is aimed at rolling out ads in states such as Georgia, Ohio and Florida – all states with early voting, and an official said the team is run by Trump’s persistent and strong lenders and the recent drop in unemployment. Advisers are hopeful that Biden’s upcoming vice presidential election will provide her new fodder to attack the Democratic ticket as too progressive as part of the “deep state.”
“We are now in a better position than we were two weeks ago, and there are still 17 weeks left,” said another Trump political adviser. “The minute Biden announced a VP is no longer hidden there. That is the best moment for the Trump campaign to talk about this presidential campaign and create the contrast. ”
Other Republicans claim that unless Trump becomes a more disciplined candidate, he will continue to fall in the polls – and stay on track has never been Trump’s strong suit.
Some non-conservative groups and donors are increasingly pulling their attention and money away from Trump and toward Republican control of the House of Representatives. But longtime operatives say it will be impossible to separate Trump’s policies, proclamations and tweets from the plight of Republican senators, several of whom now occupy vulnerable seats in Colorado, Maine and Iowa.
“Back in the winter and spring, donors threw everything at Trump,” said a second Republican near the White House. ‘But now they only think of the Senate. The First Chamber is currently the Alamo. ”
