Donald Trump Must ‘Run The Table’ In Key States To Get Re-Elected, ‘New York Times’ Reporter Says

New York Times White House correspondent Peter Baker appeared on MSNBC on Sunday and spoke about Donald Trump’s chances of re-election, which he said are decreasing as Republicans turn against him. As reported by Raw Story, Baker claims that Trump’s chances of winning re-election hinge on his ability to “run the table” in critical states.

“What the president has done throughout his presidency is stick to his core constituency; the voters who got him there in the first place. He has done nothing to reach out beyond his core constituency,'” Baker said.

According to Baker, Trump’s plan thus far has been to appeal to his base as part of a strategy to boost turnout in the right states and gain an electoral college win, as he did in 2016 against Hillary Clinton. Baker pointed to the close races in swing states like Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, which were crucial for Trump’s 2016 win.

But Baker also noted that even states like Texas, Florida, and North Carolina show tight races, which he said suggests that the president’s strategy will be difficult to pull off in the current race.

“If those states are in play, states that were not thought to be competitive, that makes President Trump’s job that much harder,” Baker said.

“In other words, he has to run the table. He not only has to win back the states he won last time, but hold on to these states that he is in danger of losing.”

Although Baker noted that polls aren’t always accurate — many did not predict Trump’s 2016 win — he nevertheless said the current state of the 2020 race should be a “concern” for Trump’s campaign.

The latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll showed Trump losing ground with key voters that drove his win in 2016. For example, the survey showed him leading among voters without a degree by just three points, a demographic he won in 2016 by about eight points. Conversely, Trump lost college graduates by approximately nine points in 2016 and is now losing the same demographic by 24 points.

Despite the reported roadblocks for Trump’s campaign, many still believe he has a chance to win in November. Pulitzer Prize-winning financial journalist David Cay Johnston claimed that the president can secure a victory by taking control of the narrative on coronavirus, decreasing social unrest, and reviving the economy.

Johnston also suggested Trump’s appeal to reliable older voters, who reportedly make up over 70 percent of the U.S. voting population, could still be harnessed to help him defeat Joe Biden.