Why Trump still has a chance

With fewer than 100 days until November's general election, the polls aren't looking good for President Trump. Still, The Atlantic's Peter Nicholas noted there's a chance the economy could bounce back by the fall; the presumptive Democratic nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, could fail to inspire a strong turnout; or polling could simply be off the mark. Real Clear Politics election analyst Sean Trende, similarly argues that, while he considers a Trump victory unlikely, the president isn't too "far off where he needs to be" to get back in the race.

Ultimately, Trende thinks Trump probably has to make up about six points to catch Biden. Candidates have overcome worse odds than that in modern history, including George H.W. Bush, who trailed his Democratic opponent Michael Dukakis by 17 points in July. Trende and others don't think the '88 election is a great comparison for a variety of reasons, including the idea that Biden's lead has been defined more by its stability.

But either way, Trump has a smaller amount of ground to cover, and Trende points to his approval rating as an indicator that it's at least possible he can. In Trende's view, Trump seems to have bottomed out at 42 percent, which suggests he can't win. But there's also a chance the current spikes in coronavirus cases will begin their descent, potentially allowing Trump to gain an extra bump to get back to 45 percent approval, which Trende has pegged as the target number for a competitive election. Tim O'Donnell

Subscribe to 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