In an interview on CNN on Friday morning, New York Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman said aides to Donald Trump are "deflated" because he gave up the fight for his Census question and fear it could hurt him in the 2020 election.
Speaking with hosts John Berman and Bianna Golodryga, Haberman said the mood at the White House was somber following Trump's announcement that he would give up the fight to put a citizenship question on the Census form.
"This is a fight a lot of conservatives are concerned about," the reporter relayed. "So it has left people who are supportive of the president and supportive of this question feeling deflated. This is a fight where public opinion is generally on the side of the president, if you ask the question of voters, should this question be on the census, a majority of voters say yes. They don't understand why the president came out swinging last week only to now say 'Oh, it turns out my lawyers were right. We really can't do anything and instead we're going to try this other way.'"
"We hear this repeatedly from the president's closest associates who are conservatives and his staunchest allies, 'Oh, this is going to be a blow. This is going to cost him a certain percentage of the vote,'" she added. "It may or may not, but it certainly has deflated morale and it has frustrated people at the White House who felt this was all chaos internally."
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