Trump pushes back against polls that say he is trailing Biden
President Trump meets with Polish President Andrzej Duda in the Oval Office of the White House Wednesday. Credit: AP/Evan Vucci
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump sought on Wednesday to cast recent polls as “fake numbers” amid reports that his campaign’s internal polling data and public polls show him lagging behind Democrat Joe Biden in key battleground states.
Trump took to Twitter to accuse the media of weaponizing polls, a day after a new Quinnipiac Poll showed him trailing against six Democratic presidential hopefuls in a potential 2020 matchup.
The president also pushed back against a New York Times report that indicated his campaign’s internal polling shows him falling behind Biden in more than a dozen states critical to a 2020 victory. The Times, Politico and other national news outlets, citing campaign sources, have also reported on the Trump campaign’s private polling data, which show Biden leading in states Trump won in 2016, including Florida, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Ohio and Michigan.
"The Fake (Corrupt) News Media said they had a leak into polling done by my campaign which, by the way and despite the phony and never ending Witch Hunt, are the best numbers WE have ever had," Trump tweeted without offering his campaign’s data. "They reported Fake numbers that they made up & don’t even exist. WE WILL WIN AGAIN!"
Trump, who often lagged in polling leading up to his 2016 victory, has often berated polls that showcase unfavorable numbers, while embracing polling figures that show solid support among his base.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Wednesday, Trump said he was "not a huge believer in polling."
"We have some internal polling, very little, and it's unbelievably strong," Trump said. "The strongest I've ever been is exactly today."
The latest Quinnipiac Poll, conducted by the nonpartisan and independent Quinnipiac Polling Institute, shows Biden leading Trump by 13 points among the 1,214 voters surveyed from June 6 -10. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has a nine-point advantage over Trump, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) has an eight-point edge and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has a seven-point lead over Trump, according to the poll. Sen. Corey Booker (D-N.J.) and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg each top Trump by five points, according to the results of the poll, which had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
