A recent Fox News report claimed Republican operatives are speculating whether Donald Trump will drop from the presidential race. As reported by Raw Story , one of the network’s hosts, Trace Gallagher, suggested on Monday that this scenario could become a reality.
“President Trump’s poll numbers declining in recent weeks amid criticism of his administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, which is leading some speculation that if his support keeps falling, the president might drop out of the race,” Gallagher said.
In addition to a recent Fox News poll that showed Trump 12 points behind Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden , polls in traditionally red states like Texas have shown the pair in a tight race. As The Inquisitr previously reported, Republicans have been worried about the president losing them the Senate as far back as at least May.
As noted by Fox News , past polls have been “way off the mark.” The publication pointed to 2016 when Trump trailed Hillary Clinton in many of the polls leading up to the general election. In addition, it noted that the president has faced and survived many controversies through his first term.
While speaking to former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu, who is a Republican, Gallagher claimed that the majority of the United States population is unhappy with Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and implied that the polling reflects this trend. In response, Sununu pushed back on the suggestion that Trump will exit the race.
“There’s no chance the president is going to drop out,” Sununu said. “So, put that to the side. But there is no question that the president would like to be in a better position in those polls than he is today.”
Sununu claimed that the coronavirus pandemic has “been a problem” for Trump and said Republicans must grapple with the fact that they will continue to be judged for their handling of the crisis through November. The best approach, Sununu said, is for Trump to tailor his campaign message to “reality.”
“Let people know that this is a real second wave, let them know there may be a third wave,” Sununu said.
The president’s campaign denied reports that Trump is considering leaving the race. Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh pointed to past media polling that has been off base and accused such surveys of undersampling Republican voters and failing to screen for likely voters. According to Murtaugh, this purported strategy is used to create false narratives.