GOP strategist Karl Rove predicts that the Trump 2020 campaign will have a difficult time winning Rust Belt states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan, reports Fox News.
“We’ve seen some evidence in the public polling, but my sense is that Trump campaign feels very, very cautious about their chances in those three states,” Rove told “America’s Newsroom” hosts on Tuesday.
President Trump won the Rust Belt states by narrow margins mostly because of low voter turnout for Hillary Clinton. Rove said that President Trump would have to compensate for those three states if he were to lose them this time around.
“If he loses these three states, he is no longer president unless he makes it up elsewhere,” Rove said.
Should Biden win the nomination, Rove said that Trump will have his work cut out for him in the Rust Belt states given that Biden was born in Pennsylvania and now has his headquarters there.
“[Biden] has his headquarters in Philadelphia and recognizes how central it can be to the general election,” Rove said. “Biden is missing no tricks. [Pennsylvania] will be a tough state for the president to hold and it’s critical that he hold it.”
Rove said that Trump will most likely refocus his efforts on states like Colorado, New Hampshire, Nevada, and New Mexico if he loses support in the Rust Belt.
Despite Rove’s predictions, Rep. Lou Barletta (R-PA) believes that Trump will not only be victorious in Pennsylvania but victorious by an even wider margin, noting that Joe Biden has no connection to the state whatsoever.
“He left Pennsylvania 67 years ago… Remember, Hillary Clinton came from Scranton too and we all know what happened there,” Barletta told “America’s Newsroom.”
Barletta “begged” Trump to not believe the polls in Pennsylvania, noting that he trailed Hillary Clinton by six points in 2016, according to Fox News. He said this stems from the fact that Democrats and Independents in the state still fear disclosing their full opinions to pollsters.
On Monday night, more than 10,000 people showed up to the Trump rally in Montoursville, Pennsylvania, where the president reminded the crowd that his future opponent, Joe Biden, left Pennsylvania behind long ago.
“And don’t forget: Biden deserted you,” Trump said at the rally. “He’s not from Pennsylvania. I guess he was born here, but he left you, folks. He left you for another state. Remember that, please. I meant to say that. This guy talks about, ‘Oh, I know Scranton.’ Well, I know the places better. He left you for another state, and he didn’t take care of you, because he didn’t take care of your jobs. He let other countries come in and rip off America. That doesn’t happen anymore.”
Rep. Barletta said that Trump’s rally was basically a sequel to everything he saw in 2016, with thousands waiting in lines outside.
“This is a replay of what I saw in the last election. … I think he’s gonna win Pennsylvania by more than he won the last time,” said Barletta. “I’m sure the experts will say differently, but let’s watch and see. I don’t know if they’ve learned anything in four years.”