On Monday, I wrote about how the mainstream media continues to advance a false narrative about Donald Trump’s polling numbers, insisting that he is trailing Hillary Clinton by double digits and that the race is all but over.
Not true. Not at all.
We shared these post-Democratic convention polls with you on Monday:
- Fox News (7/31 – 8/2): Clinton 49, Trump 39 (Clinton +10)
- NBC News/SM (8/1 – 8/7): Clinton 51, Trump 41 (Clinton +10)
- Bloomberg (8/5 – 8/8): Clinton 50, Trump 44 (Clinton +6)
- Economist/YouGov (8/6 – 8/9): Clinton 48, Trump 41 (Clinton +7)
- Reuters/Ipsos (8/6 – 8/10): Clinton 42, Trump 36 (Clinton +6)
- UPI/CVoter (8/7 – 8/13): Clinton 49, Trump 46 (Clinton +3)
- LA Times/USC (8/8 – 8/14): Clinton 46, Trump 42 (Clinton +4)
When you look at the trend of polling data, you can clearly see that Clinton received a nice post-convention bounce, but that “double digit lead” the media keeps touting has now completely evaporated.
When we add more polls from this week, our conclusion becomes even more pronounced:
- Pew Research (8/9 – 8/16): Clinton 41, Trump 37 (Clinton +4)
- Reuters/Ipsos (8/13 – 8/17): Clinton 41, Trump 36 (Clinton +5)
- Economist/YouGov (8/14 – 8/16)
: Clinton 47, Trump 41 (Clinton +6) - Rasmussen (8/15 – 8/16): Clinton 41, Trump 39 (Clinton +2)
- LA Times/USC (8/18): Clinton 44, Trump 43 (Clinton +1)
The race has narrowed dramatically in the last two weeks, but the media still insists on the narrative that Trump is getting creamed.
It’s not true. Right now, Hillary Clinton has a slight lead of maybe 3 or 4 points, but it’s not even Labor Day. The race has barely begun. We still have debates, wall-to-wall TV ads, and nearly three months of campaigning to go.
Reporters would be wise to discard their preconceived notions about this race. Donald Trump may not poll well in elite circles, but he’s within striking distance of winning the presidency.
Frank Cannon is the president of American Principles Project.
