In an attempt to get President Trump to stop holding daily coronavirus briefings, several advisers shared with him last week internal polling showing him lagging behind former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, in key swing states, three people with knowledge of the matter told The Washington Post.
Trump's poll numbers have been dropping over the last several weeks, and with the coronavirus death toll rising and the economy spiraling, advisers wanted to encourage him to hold fewer briefings and to stop taking questions from reporters. In a call last Wednesday with campaign manager Brad Parscale and Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, Trump was informed of two polls — one from his campaign, the other from the RNC — that showed him behind Biden.
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.
The polling data put Trump in a horrible mood for the rest of the week, aides told the Post, and at one point he called Parscale to yell at him. He cursed throughout the phone call, they added, and said, "I'm not losing to Joe Biden." One aide told the Post that Trump said he might sue Parscale, but was joking. After the call, Parscale told others that Trump was just venting. On Tuesday, Parscale visited the Oval Office to deliver poll numbers that weren't so grim, aides said, lifting Trump's spirits. Read more at The Washington Post.
-
Could Trump run for a third term?The Explainer Constitutional amendment limits US presidents to two terms, but Trump diehards claim there is a loophole
-
Political cartoons for November 28Cartoons Friday's political cartoons include economic diagnosis, climate distractions, and more
-
What does the fall in net migration mean for the UK?Today’s Big Question With Labour and the Tories trying to ‘claim credit’ for lower figures, the ‘underlying picture is far less clear-cut’
-
Judge halts Trump’s DC Guard deploymentSpeed Read The Trump administration has ‘infringed upon the District’s right to govern itself,’ the judge ruled
-
Trump accuses Democrats of sedition meriting ‘death’Speed Read The president called for Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for urging the military to refuse illegal orders
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
