Trump campaign separates from pollsters after internal numbers leak: Sources

The Trump campaign cuts ties with a number of its pollsters after internal figures have been leaked, showing President Donald Trump on the sidelines of defeat in key battlefield states.

Many sources close to the case have confirmed to ABC News that the campaign will separate from some of its investigators after the leak, indicating that the president was losing in key states to win, based on an internal poll conducted at the end of March this year.

According to a close friend of the campaign, Tony Fabrizio and John McLaughlin, veteran political investigators, will remain investigators.

The news follows a report by ABC News, revealing – for the first time – internal figures from the Trump campaign poll that the president would overtake former double-digit vice president Joe Biden in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin . Both states played a crucial role in Trump's election in 2016.

The data leak also indicates that Biden was leading by seven points in Florida, where the president is preparing to officially launch his 2020 campaign on Tuesday.

Trump and the campaign have repeatedly denied that such data existed, but when it was presented by ABC News with these numbers last week, the campaign confirmed these data, saying in a statement that the numbers were old and that they had witnessed huge fluctuations in favor of Trump. .

"These disclosed figures are old, in terms of the election campaign, of months-long polls that began in March before two major events: the publication of the summary of the Mueller report exonerating the president and the beginning of the Democratic candidates defining themselves with Brad Parscale. , director of the Trump campaign, told ABC News in the statement. "Since then, the 17 states we surveyed have been very supportive of the president, based on the policies currently adopted by Democrats. For example, the plan to provide free health care to illegal immigrants results in an 18-point swing to President Trump. "

On March 24, Attorney General William Barr released the summary of the investigation of the special advocate Robert Mueller on the interference of Russia in the 2016 election. of the Trump campaign, which was reviewed by 17 states, was already on the ground, it was already running for four days after the publication of Barr's letter to the public. The survey took place from March 15 to 28.

In an exclusive interview with ABC News channel chief George Stephanopoulos, the president denied the existence of such a poll and said his internal numbers showed that he " win everywhere. "

"Nobody showed you these polls because these polls do not exist, George." These polls do not exist. I lose in 15 states out of 17 "These polls do not exist", said Trump.

"I've just been given a meeting with my investigator, who – frankly, I do not even believe the pollsters if you want to know the truth, you're just running a campaign and anything else, that's Is – but I just have a meet someone who is a pollster and I win everywhere, so I do not know what you're talking about. "