Those polls are 'phony,' Trump insists; 'we are winning'

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (AP) — A defiant Donald Trump blamed his worsening campaign struggles on "phony polls" from the "disgusting" media on Monday, fighting to energize his most loyal supporters as his path to the presidency shrinks.

Just 14 days until the election, the Republican nominee campaigned in battleground Florida as his team conceded publicly as well as privately that crucial Pennsylvania may be slipping away. That would leave a razor-thin pathway to the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House on Nov. 8.

Despite continued difficulties with women and minorities, Trump refuses to soften his message in the campaign's final days to broaden his coalition. The strategy leaves no margin for error. Yet Trump offered an optimistic front in the midst of a three-day tour through Florida as thousands began voting in person.

"I believe we're actually winning," Trump declared during a round table discussion with farmers gathered next to a local pumpkin patch.

A day after suggesting the First Amendment to the Constitution may give the press too much freedom, he insisted that the media are promoting biased polls to discourage his supporters from voting.

"The media isn't just against me. They're against all of you," Trump told cheering supporters later in St. Augustine. "They're against what we represent."

With Trump on the defensive, Democrat Hillary Clinton worked to slam the door on his candidacy in swing state New Hampshire while eyeing a possible Democratic majority in the Senate.

The former secretary of state campaigned alongside New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan, who is running for the Senate, and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who was merciless as she seized on Trump's history of predatory sexu- al language and several allegations of misconduct.

"He thinks that because he has a mouth full of Tic Tacs, he can force himself on any woman within groping distance," Warren charged. "I've got news for you Donald: Women have had it with guys like you."

Trump has denied a pile of recent allegations, and he addressed a new one Monday in an interview with WGIR radio in New Hampshire.

He called the allegations “total fiction” and lashed out at former adult film performer Jessica Drake, who said Saturday that he had grabbed and kissed her without permission and offered her money to visit his hotel room a decade ago.

“One said, ‘ He grabbed me on the arm.’ And she’s a porn star,” Trump said. He added, “Oh, I’m sure she’s never been grabbed before.”

With Election Day two weeks away, Trump’s electoral map looks bleak.