| | | | Donald Trump's Minnesota pipe dream |  | | In the wake of a recent "Keep America Great" rally in Minneapolis, President Donald Trump tweeted this: "We are going to fight with all of our heart and soul and we are going to win the great state of Minnesota in 2020."
But probably not actually, at least according to a new poll conducted for the Minneapolis Star Tribune and released Monday. In it, Trump trails both former Vice President Joe Biden and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren by double-digits in the state while Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders holds a 49% to 40% edge over the incumbent.
Those wide margins are a far cry from Trump's near-miss in Minnesota in 2016 when he lost by 44,000 votes out of more than 2.6 million cast -- one of the closest margins in the country.
Now, it's currently October 2019, not November 2020. And as J. Patrick Coolican of the Strib noted in a recent piece that Trump's 2020 campaign is already spending heavily in a state that has two things that should work in Trump's favor: 1) A large number of white, working-class voters and 2) a booming economy.
Even so, these poll numbers have to put something of a damper on the Trump campaign's much-publicized hopes of putting Minnesota in their column. That same Star Tribune poll put Trump's job approval at just 40%, a very tough starting place to begin a winning campaign.
To be clear: Trump doesn't need to win Minnesota to get reelected. He didn't win the state in 2016 and won the Electoral College relatively easily.
The bigger issue here for Trump is whether his numbers in Minnesota are indicative of a broader weakness across the industrial Midwest -- Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin -- where he won the 2016 election. Trump's job approval numbers in these states has been consistent with the numbers in the Star Tribune poll for at least the last year. If that trend continues, his path to a second term narrows significantly.
The Point: Trump's 2020 electoral map is already quite narrow. If his Minnesota numbers indicate a broader softening in the region, look out.
-- Chris | | "I get more promotion than any human being that's ever lived … some good, some bad."
-- President Trump denying that he needs promotion and blaming Democrats for forcing him to give up hosting the G7 at his Florida golf resort. | | | Pierre Delecto
Utah Sen. Mitt Romney's nom de plume for his lurker Twitter handle. Romney apparently used the account to monitor political discussions on social media and to defend himself.
Asked about an account attributed to user "Pierre Delecto" by The Atlantic's McKay Coppins on Sunday night, the Utah Republican and 2012 GOP presidential nominee replied, "'C'est moi,'" or "it's me." Romney explained in an Atlantic profile that he maintains a secret Twitter account, and a Slate investigation linked the Pierre Delecto account to him.
Chris has more. | | The Russians are back for 2020
How the media is changing the way it covers Donald Trump
The New York Times did an interesting impeachment poll
The rise and fall of the new Gawker
Get your 6-fingered primate content here! | |  | Expert debunks myths about Trump whistleblowers | | In this weekend edition of The Point, Chris and guest John Kostyack, executive director of the National Whistleblower Center, talk about whistleblowers and the formal process for how their information is handled once they come forward.
Keep up with The Point on YouTube! | |
LAUREN'S CAMPAIGN TRAIL LATEST | | Elizabeth Warren: Plans to release her plan for how to pay for "Medicare for All" "in the coming weeks."
Julián Castro: Says he will drop out of the presidential race if he doesn't raise $800,000 in the next 10 days.
Tulsi Gabbard: Has sparred with Hillary Clinton after she suggested Gabbard is a "Russian asset." Gabbard called Clinton "queen of the warmongers."
Pete Buttgieg: Dismissed the claim that fellow 2020 hopeful Tulsi Gabbard is a "Russian asset," saying "there is no basis for that." | | | "Small"
The number of US troops, according to President Trump, that will temporarily stay in Syria to protect oil fields from ISIS. | | | | | | |
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