Trump shocked to learn he might not win reelection

President Trump does not like to hear bad news. By all accounts, in private the people who work for him are required to deliver to him a version of the rhetoric he offers to the public: Everything is great; you’re setting records; nobody’s ever seen anything so amazing. When they don’t, he becomes extremely unhappy, as he did recently after aides presented him with “grim polling data … to encourage him to reduce the frequency of coronavirus briefings or to stop taking questions, after seeing his numbers slip for several weeks,” according to reporting by The Post and other news organizations.

Worst of all, internal polls from the RNC and his reelection campaign showed him trailing former vice president Joe Biden, the likely Democratic nominee, in swing states:

Aides described Trump as in a particularly foul mood last week because of the polling data and news coverage of his administration’s response to the pandemic, according to two of the people familiar with the discussions. In one call, he berated [campaign manager Brad] Parscale over the polling data, the two people said.

Other reports describe Trump “shouting” or “erupt[ing]” at Parscale and blaming the campaign manager for his poor standing, because it couldn’t possibly be Trump’s own fault. “I am not f—ing losing to Joe Biden,” he reportedly said. Yet the reality is that he will probably trail Biden in polls from here to November, though that doesn’t mean he’s going to lose.

NeverthelessShePersisted

Article URL : https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/04/30/trump-shocked-learn-he-might-not-win-reelection/