While he likes to brag that he won the 2016 election by a historic margin, in reality President Donald Trump lost the popular vote by almost 3 million ballots and only secured victory in the Electoral College thanks to a few key swing states that narrowly went for him.
And now those key states are sick and tired of what they’ve seen from the incumbent president, and they’re telling pollsters they don’t approve of the job Trump is doing.
A recent Morning Consult poll shows Trump in a deep hole in the following 5 key swing states he’ll need if he hopes to have any chance of winning re-election next year:
- Florida (-24 points)
- Ohio (-20)
- Michigan (-19)
- Wisconsin (-18)
- Pennsylvania (-17)
In particular, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania were seen as the keys to Trump’s 2016 win, but he clearly has a lot of ground to make up in those states. Florida is the key to almost every presidential election, and yet the president is down big there, too.
Even more troubling for Trump is that the five states hold a total of 93 electoral votes. In 2016, the president’s margin of victory in the Electoral College was only 74 votes.
In comparison, President Barack Obama defeated John McCain by 192 electoral votes in 2008 and then beat Mitt Romney by 126 electoral votes in 2012.
Trump’s poll numbers in states that he’s expected to win in 2020 are also much lower than they should be for an incumbent Republican president. In Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, and Wyoming, Trump has seen double-digit declines in support, according to recent surveys. If Trump is in trouble in such reliably GOP states, he could be facing a landslide loss a year from now.
The reasons for Trump’s dismal poll numbers, of course, are numerous: His entire administration is drowning in corruption. He also continues to pursue policy goals (i.e. destroying Obamacare and building a border wall) that are not supported by the vast majority of Americans. Apparently, the president thinks he can win a national election with just his base supporters, who make up less than 40 percent of the electorate.
While the 2020 election is still over a year and a half away, the Morning Consult poll suggests that Trump is going to have an uphill climb and may be unable to pull off the upset win he managed in 2016.
Featured Image Via Screenshot
