Trump's campaign is reportedly ready to cancel his convention rally to avoid a 'Tulsa-like humiliation'

Poll after poll has shown former Vice President Joe Biden with a growing lead over President Trump, and with COVID-19 cases surging again, the president's approval level is sinking as well. It's all leading Trump to claim "the polls are all fake" and, when he does believe them, beg for advice to turn it all around, Vanity Fair reports.

In recent days, Trump has appeared "down in the dumps," Republicans who have spoken with him tell Vanity Fair. "People around him think his heart's not in it," one Republican close to the White House said of his campaign. Trump is reportedly stuck between appealing to his base and suburban voters, leading him to even call Fox News' Tucker Carlson last week and beg "What do I do? What do I do?"

In other instances, Trump has appeared in denial of his sputtering campaign and claimed "the polls are all fake," a Republican in touch with Trump tells Vanity Fair. But at other times he reportedly believes the polls — and blames them on his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner. But the reported blame games haven't stopped the bad news from pouring in, namely when it comes to the resumption of campaign rallies where Trump usually thrives. With coronavirus spreading throughout Florida and a mandatory mask policy now in place in Jacksonville, the Trump campaign is reportedly ready to cancel his 15,000-person rally at the Republican National Convention next month "so that Trump doesn’t suffer another Tulsa–like humiliation," Vanity Fair writes.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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.

Sign up

Read more about Trump's growing campaign woes at Vanity Fair.