Republican Party insiders reportedly told Fox News that Donald Trump may drop out of the 2020 presidential race if he believes he’s poll numbers don’t improve, Yahoo News reported Monday.
“The claim comes in a report in the president’s favorite news outlet that cites a number of GOP insiders who are concerned about Trump’s re-election prospects amid abysmal polling numbers,” according to Yahoo.
The president is currently trailing Democratic candidate Joe Biden by double digits in almost all the swing states, according to a tracker of 2020 polls by RealClearPolitics.
The polls suggest that Trump has lost support from older white voters — typically a bedrock of support for the Republican Party and a group that was crucial to his narrow 2016 victory.
“It’s too early, but if the polls continue to worsen, you can see a scenario where he drops out,” one anonymous GOP operative told Fox News, Yahoo reports.
Charles Gasparino, the author of the Fox News report, said in a series of tweets that he had spoken to “major players” in the Republican party for the story. One of them described Trump’s mood as “fragile” as his chances of a second-term looked increasingly dim.
Fox Business Charles Gasparino: ‘Trump’s Current Psyche Fragile, Raising Possibility He Could Drop Out If Pole Numbers Don’t Rebound’ https://t.co/LlnRnnxExY
— Whiskey Tango (@whiskeytangotex) June 28, 2020
Trump’s disapproval numbers continue to rise. A recent Washington Post-Ipsos poll found that 62 percent of American adults disapprove of Trump’s handling of the protests, while only 36 percent approve. A New York Times poll returned similar numbers.
The same New York Times-Siena College poll found 58 percent of Americans disapprove of his handling of the coronavirus outbreak, while only 38 percent approve.
