CNN’s Enten on NYT Poll Showing Massive Trump Lead in Battleground States: ‘An Absolute Disaster’ for Biden Camp

ENTEN: “Look, these Sun Belt battleground states — frankly, for the Joe Biden campaign, these numbers are an absolute disaster. The smallest lead is in Arizona for Donald Trump, he’s up six. Look at this, 9 in Georgia. 13 in Nevada, my goodness gracious, my God, that is a huge lead. No Democrat has lost that state since John Kerry lost it back in 2004. How about these Great Lake battleground states? This is something that the Joe Biden campaign can work with. Look, Pennsylvania, Donald Trump up three, but that’s well within the margin of error. Wisconsin, Donald Trump up one, well within the margin of error, and actually a Joe Biden lead well within the margin of error up a point here. This they can work with the Joe Biden campaign. This the Donald campaign — Donald Trump campaign absolutely loves, and it looks like a lot of the other polling out of the Sun Belt battlegrounds as well.”
BOLDUAN: “When you’re looking into the numbers, why do you think Biden is doing better in the Great Lakes and Trump is doing so much better in the Sun Belt?”
ENTEN: “Yeah, the Trump coalition is changing. That’s basically what’s cooking here. This is at least one of the big reasons why. So this is among likely voters in these — in all these battleground states we just spoke about. Back in 2020, 84 percent of the Trump campaign’s — of the Trump coalition was white. Look where it is now. It’s 78 percent. The nonwhite portion of the Trump coalition, it was 13 percent in 2020, look at this now. It’s 19 percent. So the Trump coalition is becoming more diverse. And of course those Sun Belt battleground states are more diverse than the Great Lake battleground states.”
BOLDUAN: “You’re talking about — you — you’re looking at the Nevada’s and Arizona’s here.”
ENTEN: “Of course, if you look at Nevada, Arizona, heavy Hispanic population, Georgia heavily African-American population, with the Michigan does have some black voters in it, but Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are heavily, heavily white.”
BOLDUAN: “Very interesting. OK. Add it all up, what does it say about where the race stands right now, we’re talking Electoral College and the race to 270.”
ENTEN: “Yeah. The race to 270. Its advantage Donald Trump, but he’s not over the 270 mark just yet. All right? So if we flip Nevada, Arizona and Georgia here in your lighter shades of Pink, you add them to the states and of course, the second congressional district up in Maine, which Donald Trump won last time around, that gets him to 268 electoral votes. If we keep Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania in the too close to call category, along with the Nebrasca’s second congressional district, Joe Biden at 225. So it’s advantage Donald Trump, but Joe Biden does at this point have a path to 270.”
BOLDUAN: “Yeah, and right now as you’re pointing out neither —“
ENTEN: “Yeah.”
BOLDUAN: “— neither there.”
ENTEN: “Neither there.”
BOLDUAN: “And we have a long road to it still.”
ENTEN: “Yes, we do.”