Trump campaign denies internal polling data showing defeat by Biden


President Trump's internal campaign polling showed him losing in a hypothetical race against former Vice President Joe Biden in a number of battleground states, ABC News reported Friday.
The polling data reportedly showed Biden with double-digit leads in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Florida, but GOP strategist Tony Fabrizio called reports of those numbers "incomplete and misleading." Fabrizio, who is the pollster for Trump's re-election campaign, said the data was representing a "worst-case scenario," not the predicted result.
Trump has told reporters that his internal polling shows him winning every single state he won in 2016, and The New York Times reports he told aides to deny that the campaign's survey showed him behind Biden. He also denied the poll existed at all. While Fabrizio says the data is simply evaluating "the most unfavorable turnout model possible," Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale had a different explanation. He said the only reason the numbers looked so bad for Trump is because they reflect the time before Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report was released, and told ABC News that since the "ancient" polls were conducted in March, "we have seen huge swings in the President's favor across the 17 states we have polled."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.
-
‘Tariffs at their essence are an income transfer’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Why is Trump backtracking on the Hyundai immigration raid?
Today’s Big Question Backlash threatens investment in US manufacturing
-
The 9 restaurants to eat at this very moment
The Week Recommends They’re award-winning. Isn’t that reason enough?
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to Trump
Speed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raids
Speed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mount
Speed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants