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By Andrew Stanton
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Former President Donald Trump's internal polls are looking different from recent surveys that show him trailing Vice President Kamala Harris in key swing states, his campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said on Monday.
Harris' poll numbers surged after she replaced President Joe Biden as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee last month. Biden exited the race following pressure from Democrats concerned about his ability to beat Trump after his poor performance in the June presidential debate, which fueled concerns about his age at 81. Trump, 78, has also faced questions about his age and mental acuity.
The vice president, meanwhile, officially locked down the nomination earlier this month, and the Democratic National Convention (DNC) is set to be held next week in Chicago.
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Although Harris' polls for months appeared similar, if not worse than, those of Biden, her candidacy renewed enthusiasm among the Democratic Party, drawing record-breaking fundraising. Her poll numbers increased over the past few weeks, giving Democrats new optimism about their chances come November.
Battleground state polling still shows a tight race, however. Harris has substantially closed the gap from Biden who trailed Trump in most swing state polls after the June debate. The polls have sparked concerns among some Republicans about Trump's chances of winning reelection in November.
During a Fox & Friends interview on Monday morning on Fox News, Leavitt was asked by co-host Brian Kilmeade about whether the campaign's internal polls similarly show Harris leading Trump in battleground states.
"No. And according to, the RealClearPolitics average, [former] President Trump is still leading in many of the battleground states. If you look at many of the polls, he continues to lead in this race. It's tight. We're going to continue to work hard and bring his winning message to every corner of the country," she said.
Leavitt did not provide more information about what the campaign's internal polls are specifically showing.
Newsweek has reached out to the Trump campaign for additional comment via email.
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Kilmeade specifically asked Leavitt about a new poll from The New York Times and Siena College that showed Harris leading Trump in three key battleground states.
The poll found the vice president leading Trump by four points in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. In each of the states, 50 percent of respondents said they planned to back Harris, while 46 percent said they are voting for the former president. All of those leads are within the margin of error.
It surveyed 619 Michigan voters from August 5 to 8, 693 Pennsylvania voters from August 6 to 9 and 661 Wisconsin voters from August 5 to 8.
Harris winning those three battleground states would likely bring her to exactly 270 Electoral College votes, as she is viewed as favored in Democratic-leaning states previously viewed as potentially competitive for Trump like Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Virginia, as well as Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District.
The poll did not survey voters of other swing states Arizona, Georgia, Nevada or North Carolina, all of which are also considered to be competitive states where Harris has seen improvement in her polling.
Meanwhile, a new YouGov Blue survey, conducted on behalf of Carolina Forward, showed Harris and Trump tied in North Carolina, each receiving support from 46 percent of respondents. The poll, which sampled 802 voters online from August 5 to 9 has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.
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