Polls show Trump has fight on his hands in Kansas and Montana

Public and private polling shows President Trump "not only trailing badly in swing states like Michigan and Wisconsin, but running closely with [Joe] Biden in traditionally conservative bastions like Kansas and Montana," the New York Times reports.

Why it matters: Trump won each of those states in 2016 by 20 points. If he's in dogfights there, his map is on fire.

• Tim Murtaugh, Trump campaign communications director, replied: "That’s nonsense. In our data, President Trump is strong against Joe Biden in all the states we track and which will decide the election."
• "Our plan has always been, and remains, to retain the states the President won in 2016 and add some more to his column. We will be playing on Biden’s field in states like New Hampshire, Minnesota, New Mexico, and Nevada."

Murtaugh said the campaign’s polling shows openings based on the defunding police issue, which is “why you see us on offense in states we didn’t win in 2016."