Fox News contributor Karl Rove joined "The Daily Briefing" Thursday to discuss a new poll that shows President Trump topping Joe Biden by seven percentage points in 15 battleground states ahead of November’s general election.
According to the CNN poll Trump would lead Biden by 52 percent to 45 percent among registered voters in those states if the presidential election were held now.
TRUMP LEADS IN KEY BATTLEGROUNDS BUT BIDEN HAS EDGE NATIONALLY: POLL
The states considered battlegrounds in the CNN poll were Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.
"If he [Trump] were to win these states, he would in all likelihood to be president for the next four years," Rove told host Dana Perino. "He’s got to worry about Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin -- all of which he won by a narrow margin" in 2016."
Among voters nationwide, the poll shows Biden ahead of Trump by 51 percnt to 46 percent. The poll also shows Trump holding a 12-point advantage over Biden on the question of which candidate is most trusted to handle the nation’s economy. However, Biden holds a six-percentage point advantage on the question of who voters trust to handle the response to the coronavirus pandemic and a 12-percentage point lead over Trump on the question of who voters trust to deal with health care.
"If I were the Trump campaign, I would pay less attention to this poll of people in battleground states," Rove said. "... I'd look at the entire sample [of] who do you think is better at handling the economy: Trump, 54 and Biden, 42.
"I'd find out who those people are because there’s the winning margin in the election for the president."
Rove added that Biden has to "up his game" a reference to his glitch-riddled online campaign events.
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"He did have a good appearance on 'GMA' ['Good Morning America'] this week, but it was only by comparison to the dreadful appearances he has otherwise been having."
"What’s the message for Joe Biden?" Rove concluded, "Darned if I know."
Fox News' Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.