Don’t believe the polls, Trump says, ‘we are winning’

PALM BEACH, Florida (AP): LECTION DAY just 15 days off, Donald Trump fought to preserve his narrow path to the presidency in must-win Florida on Monday. Hillary Clinton worked to slam the door on her Republican opponent in New Hampshire.

Trump’s team concedes both publicly and privately that his electoral map is becoming bleak. And GOP leaders are growing increasingly worried

Ethat his weak standing jeopardises vulnerable Republican Senate candidates in battlegrounds like Florida, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania.

In public, the New York billionaire is having none of that talk. He lashed out at the media yesterday for promoting “phony polls” during a round-table discussion with Florida farmers gathered next to a local pumpkin patch.

“We’re winning this race. I really believe we are winning,” Trump told the farmers, baskets of gourds, bales of hay and corn stalks behind him.

Monday was the second day of Trump’s three-day swing in Florida, which is essential to his White House hopes. There is no scenario in which he can lose Florida and win the 270 electoral votes needed to become president, based on current polling. Even if he wins the toss-up state, his path to 270 requires victories in several more swing states, including North Carolina, Ohio, Iowa and Nevada.

The Trump campaign acknowledged its challenge in a Monday fundraising email, conceding that victories even in those swing states wouldn’t be enough.

ROAD TO VICTORY

“Polls show us close in New Hampshire, Colorado, and Pennsylvania. Winning just any one of those states would lead us to victory,” the campaign wrote, citing three states where Trump is trailing Clinton by significant margins in recent polls.

Clinton’s running mate, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, was making two campaign stops in Florida on Monday. Clinton plans to visit Tuesday and Wednesday.

Clinton’s focus on Monday was New Hampshire, which offers just four electoral votes compared to Florida’s 29, but is also crucial to Trump’s hopes.

Trump’s schedule in the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

penultimate week of the campaign reflects the narrow path he faces in his White House bid.