Democratic Pollster Admits ‘X-Factor’ Trump Could Beat Biden

After spending eight years demonizing Donald Trump, mainstream media figures appear to be coming to grips with the fact that their efforts have not destroyed his chances of winning a second term in the White House.

Journalists and pundits have reacted with a mixture of shock and disgust upon realizing that Trump is effectively running neck-and-neck with President Joe Biden in most polls despite their best efforts to portray the former president as an extremist and a criminal. 

During a recent NBC News segment, Danielle Pletka of the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute discussed the state of the election — and a likely 2020 election rematch — with Democratic Party pollster Cornell Belcher.

Pletka, who noted that Biden is polling roughly even with, and in some cases behind, most of the Republican presidential primary field, was surprised that Belcher admitted Trump could win next year’s election.

“Here’s the X-factor, because it can become 2016 again because you had so many people who said, ‘I’m going to protest my vote, I’m the lesser of two evils,’ by the way, and that’s how Donald Trump wins,” the Democratic operative said. “He wins by subtraction.”

Explaining that “disgruntled” voters on both sides are “looking at third parties” right now, he suggested that Trump could attract enough support against the increasingly unpopular Biden to put him over the top in the upcoming general election.

Pletka, clearly not expecting to hear such analysis from Belcher, asked: “Did I just hear you say you think Donald Trump could win the 2024 election against Joe Biden?”

Belcher reiterated his assessment, noting that “if 2016 happens again,” Trump could secure four more years in office. 

Meanwhile, the former president continues to dominate the crowded field of GOP primary candidates as he sets course for a likely third-straight Republican presidential nomination. 

Although a head-to-head matchup between Trump and Biden is a lot closer, the former president has narrowed his previous deficit and even achieved a narrow lead in recent polls.

In a CNN survey that asked respondents which candidate they would vote for if the election were held that day, 47% selected Trump and 46% chose Biden.