Trump is 'hate-tweeting' about polls because he is in an 'unprecedented position of weakness': CNN's Avlon

On CNN Monday, fact-checker John Avlon broke down why President Donald Trump is attacking the polls — and what it signals for his re-election efforts.

"President Trump's been hate-tweeting a lot lately about polls, calling them all fake news," said Avlon. "Which means they're probably not looking too good for him. But that's despite a CNN poll from June that found a majority of Americans think Trump will win re-election and there's a lot of confidence coming from the White House. They point to the power of incumbency, a huge money advantage and at least to date strong economy."

"But go back to the data and you'll see that there is real reason for Trump to be nervous," continued Avlon. "First, he's the only president in the history of the Gallup poll never to hit 50 percent approval. That's despite the lowest unemployment rate in nearly 50 years. That's not all. A new CNN poll shows a stunning six in ten voters say that Trump doesn't deserve a second term, with a dismal 39 percent approval rating. Dig deeper and you will see a stark enthusiasm gap — a recent Washington Post/ABC poll found 27 percent of folks strongly approve of Trump's performance, while 48 percent strongly disapprove. Another poll, 53 percent of registered voters say they would definitely vote against him."

"We should know that national numbers don't mean a whole lot, right?" said Avlon. "Let's look at Trump's approval rating in key swing states. Florida, Trump's got a 44 percent approval rating, despite 54 percent of folks saying they're financially better off than in 2016. How about Pennsylvania? 42 percent of Keystone State voters say Trump is doing a great job. Michigan, where Trump won by 10,000 votes, his approval rate down to 44 percent. Wisconsin, where September poll showed that Trump is at 45 percent. Trump's under water in states he easily won, like Ohio, where only 43 percent of voters approve of the job he's doing. North Carolina, the most recent Gallup numbers put Trump at 45 percent, and 45 percent in Iowa, a state he won by almost ten points. Underwater in Texas, 45 percent. Poll last week showing that 48 percent of Lone Star voters say they definitely vote against him."

"Yes, polls are just snapshots in time, but these trends are definitely not Donald Trump's friends," said Avlon. "No wonder the president keeps insisting that internal polling looks great, best ever. But there is, of course, still plenty of time for Democrats to screw this up. Polls show that Trump's strongest re-election argument is to run against a socialist, in which Trump wins by a six-point spread. Republicans are trying to label Democrats as radical socialists and folks on the far left could be doing his work for him. Might explain why Joe Biden has the biggest lead over Trump in head to head matchups, Florida 9 points, Pennsylvania 11 points, Wisconsin 9, Ohio 8 points. Other Democrats often beat Trump in states like this, Sanders and Warren, but by consistently smaller margins."

"We're still more than 13 months out from Election Day, but right now the numbers show that President Trump is in an objective and possibly unprecedented position of weakness," concluded Avlon. "And that's your reality check."

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