Trump campaign fires some of its pollsters after leaks show poor numbers for the president

WASHINGTON — The Trump campaign has fired some of its pollsters following reports that its internal reelection polls showed President Donald Trump losing to former Vice President Joe Biden in a hypothetical matchup in battleground states.

NBC News first reported Sunday morning that the Trump campaign would be ending its relationships with some pollsters following the leaks, which had first been reported on earlier last week. The New York Times and ABC News later confirmed the departures, adding that two pollsters would be staying on — Tony Fabrizio and John McLaughlin.

According to the polling numbers obtained by NBC, Trump was trailing Biden by double digits in the key swing states of Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Michigan. The poll was conducted from March 13-28.

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Trump also trailed Biden in Iowa, North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, Georgia, Minnesota, and Maine.

Trump led Biden by only two points in Texas, where a Democrat has not won since Jimmy Carter took the state in 1976.

Trump campaign staff did not dispute the authenticity of the polls. Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale told NBC that the polls were out of date.

“These leaked numbers are ancient," he argued, "in campaign terms, from months-old polling that began in March before two major events had occurred: the release of the summary of the Mueller report exonerating the President, and the beginning of the Democrat candidates defining themselves with their far-left policy message."

In a press conference following his meeting with the president of Poland last Wednesday, Trump himself addressed the initial leak of some of the poll data, calling them "fake" and "ridiculous.

"We have great internal polling. They were fake polls that were released by somebody that is — it's ridiculous," he said.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump campaign fires some of its pollsters after leaks show poor numbers for the president