With less than 100 days to go before the election, the polls are not looking good for President Trump. But two new pieces, one in the Atlantic and the other in the Financial Times, suggest that it's foolish to write off the president's chances. In the Atlantic, Peter Nicholas runs through various factors, including the possibility that the polls could be wrong again—remember that they had Hillary Clinton winning the crucial states of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, just as they have Joe Biden leading now. Trump won all three. Also, the economy could recover "just enough," Trump could roll out an "October surprise" (vaccine news, maybe), and voting fears amid the pandemic could keep Biden supporters away from the polls.
At the Financial Times, Dan Senor has specific advice for Trump. The president should "drop his offensive tributes to symbols and leaders of the Confederacy and instead focus attention on what has been dubbed 'cancel culture,'" writes Senor, a former George W. Bush official who advised Mitt Romney in 2012, per Newsmax. "This cause was launched by young progressives who call out or boycott public figures for objectionable behavior. But many other Americans worry that the movement is getting out of hand." This will be especially helpful to Trump if Biden picks a running mate to please progressives. Trump should "amplify allegations that some teachers, journalists, business leaders, and students have been fired or ostracized because of their beliefs, or even minor missteps." The column is Senor's way of trying to calm "panic" among GOP donors, per Axios. (More President Trump 2020 stories.)