Republican Donald Trump, fighting through polls that suggest his presidential bid has started to slip away, launched a campaign blitz on Sunday in must-win Florida, where he will spend three days trying to avoid a loss in his second-home state.
Trump flew into Collier County Fairgrounds, in Republican-safe southwest Florida, on his helicopter to an eager crowd of more than 3,000 people on Sunday.
Trump said, “Are we glad that I started (campaigning)? Are we happy?. Well, I’ll let you know on the evening of November 8th whether I’m glad.”
In a nearly 45-minute speech, Trump’s argument focused on the system is rigged and so is the media.
Trump said, referring to Democrat Hillary Clinton, as the crowd gave its most enthusiastic boos, “Without the media, she doesn’t doesn’t have a chance. Including, campaign Carl”.
Trump said, “The best evidence that the system is rigged, is that Hillary Clinton is even allowed to run for the presidency of United States in the first place. She shouldn’t be allowed to run.
The first national poll conducted since the final presidential debate, by ABC News, shows Clinton leading Trump by 12 points. The same poll in mid-October gave Clinton a 4-point advantage.
In addition to the widening gap, the poll suggested why Clinton has been leading in the double digits, Republicans, unhappy with Trump’s responses to questions related to his treatment of women and with the nominee’s assertion that the election is rigged, may not turn out to vote. The number of registered Republicans who were likely to vote the poll showed that it has declined by 7 percentage points since mid-October.
It appeared that Trump, has picked up on this poll. Only minutes into his speech, he pointed to women in the crowd who supported him.
Trump said, referring to “Women for Trump” signs, “I like those pink signs the best. I’ll tell you what, we’re doing well in the polls. But, you know, I really think those polls are very inaccurate when it comes to women. I think we’re doing better with women than with men, frankly.”
Karl Rove, the former adviser who helped elect President George W. Bush and who has been well known for his mastery of electoral politics, said during an appearance on Fox News on Sunday that a Trump victory would be unlikely at this point.
Trump has scheduled a series of stops in Florida through on Tuesday, with two rallies each day, as he urges supporters to help him prove the pundits and the latest national polls wrong. He will visit six more cities before he leaves Tallahassee on Tuesday. Trump must win Florida, but recent polls suggest that Clinton has been leading by a narrow margin in the state.
Also Read: 4 Florida Voters Weighed After the final Presidential Debate
By Prakriti Neogi
