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Latest polls spark fears among Trump and his allies

There was a time, not too long ago, when Donald Trump loved pollsters and their findings. Those days are long gone.
A voter marks a ballot for the New Hampshire primary inside a voting booth at a polling place, Feb. 9, 2016, in Manchester, N.H. (Photo by David Goldman/AP)
A voter marks a ballot for the New Hampshire primary inside a voting booth at a polling place, Feb. 9, 2016, in Manchester, N.H.
By Steve Benen, Steve Benen
There was a time, not too long ago, when Donald Trump loved pollsters and their findings. During the Republican presidential primaries, when Trump was dominating, just about every speech, press conference, and interview featured proud boasts about how great Trump was doing in the polls.The GOP nominee is far less impressed with public-opinion surveys now. Trump told supporters this week independent public-opinion polls are "crooked" and part of a "rigged system." Bloomberg Politics added this week that members of Trump's inner circle are "increasingly divorced from mainstream perceptions of the state of the race, with some members rejecting public polls on the basis of their 'flawed model.'"I seem to recall Mitt Romney's supporters saying something similar four years ago.Of course, the GOP campaign's resistance to the latest evidence is understandable given that the polling shows Trump falling further behind Hillary Clinton with time running out. Fox News, which is apparently part of the same "rigged system" by Trump's reasoning, released new national results late yesterday.In a four-way contest:Clinton: 45%Trump: 38%In a head-to-head match-up:Clinton: 49%Trump: 41%Note, this survey was in the field on Monday through Wednesday, so it came after both the debate and the revelations about Trump's predatory remarks towards women.The Fox poll also asked respondents whether or not the candidates are a good role model. A 54% majority said Clinton is, while 77% said Trump is not.As for the overall averages, the major poll aggregators now show Clinton with a lead between five and eight points, which is her best advantage in quite a while. As a historical matter, since the dawn of modern polling, no presidential candidate has won after trailing by this much with four weeks remaining.As for the latest state polls, survey results from yesterday showed Clinton up by four in North Carolina; Trump up by one in Ohio; Clinton up by three in New Hampshire; and Trump up by six in Utah.Election Day is 25 days away. Early voting is already underway in much of the country.