Donald Trump has vented his anger after a new poll suggested he would lose the 2020 election against all of the leading Democratic candidates.

“In a hypothetical poll, done by one of the worst pollsters of them all, the Amazon Washington Post/ABC, which predicted I would lose to Crooked Hillary by 15 points (how did that work out?), Sleepy Joe, Pocahontas and virtually all others would beat me in the General Election,” the president wrote in a tweet posted on Wednesday morning.

“This is a phony suppression poll, meant to build up their Democrat partners,” he claimed, without any evidence. “I haven’t even started campaigning yet, and am constantly fighting Fake News like Russia, Russia, Russia. Look at North Carolina last night. Dan Bishop, down big in the Polls, WINS. Easier than 2016!”

Mr Trump's unfounded and aggravated comments about the latest national polling arrived as each of the top five Democratic candidates appeared to be gaining ground against the president in the Washington Post-ABC poll released earlier in the week. While Mr Trump was effectively neck-and-neck against Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders in the same July poll, but those four candidates all beat him now by at least four per cent, with Mr Sanders taking a nine-point lead.

The poll showed the president trailing by even wider margins among women, with former Vice President Joe Biden president holding a 30-point lead over Mr Trump among the voting bloc. Ms Harris, Ms Warren and Mr Sanders all hold over 20-point leads among women against the president as well.

The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Show all 25 1 /25 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Bernie Sanders The Vermont senator has launched a second bid for president after losing out to Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries. He is running on a similar platform of democratic socialist reform Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Joe Biden The former vice president recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well and has since maintained a front runner status in national polling EPA The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Elizabeth Warren The Massachusetts senator is a progressive Democrat, and a major supporter of regulating Wall Street Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Amy Klobuchar Klobuchar is a Minnesota senator who earned praise for her contribution to the Brett Kavanaugh hearings Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Michael Bloomberg Michael Bloomberg, a late addition to the 2020 race, announced his candidacy after months of speculation in November. He has launched a massive ad-buying campaign and issued an apology for the controversial "stop and frisk" programme that adversely impacted minority communities in New York City when he was mayor Getty Images The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Tulsi Gabbard The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but has faced tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Pete Buttigieg The centrist Indiana mayor and war veteran would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Deval Patrick The former Massachusetts governor launched a late 2020 candidacy and received very little reception. With just a few short months until the first voters flock to the polls, the former governor is running as a centrist and believes he can unite the party's various voting blocs AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Beto O'Rourke The former Texas congressman formally launched his bid for the presidency in March. He ran on a progressive platform, stating that the US is driven by "gross differences in opportunity and outcome" AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kamala Harris The former California attorney general was introduced to the national stage during Jeff Sessions’ testimony. She has endorsed Medicare-for-all and proposed a major tax-credit for the middle class AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Bill De Blasio The New York mayor announced his bid on 16 May 2019. He emerged in 2013 as a leading voice in the left wing of his party but struggled to build a national profile and has suffered a number of political setbacks in his time as mayor AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Steve Bullock The Montana governor announced his bid on 14 May. He stated "We need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people's voice, so we can finally make good on the promise of a fair shot for everyone." He also highlighted the fact that he won the governor's seat in a red [Republican] state Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Cory Booker The New Jersey Senator has focused on restoring kindness and civility in American politics throughout his campaign, though he has failed to secure the same level of support and fundraising as several other senators running for the White House in 2020 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Wayne Messam Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam said he intended to run on a progressive platform against the "broken" federal government. He favours gun regulations and was a signatory to a letter from some 400 mayors condemning President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord Vice News The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kirsten Gillibrand The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that “healthcare should be a right, not a privilege” Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Delaney The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017 AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Andrew Yang The entrepreneur announced his presidential candidacy by pledging that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Julian Castro The former San Antonio mayor announced his candidacy in January and said that his running has a “special meaning” for the Latino community in the US Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Marianne Williamson The author and spiritual adviser has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Eric Swalwell One of the younger candidates, Swalwell has served on multiple committees in the House of Representatives. He intended to make gun control central to his campaign but dropped out after his team said it was clear there was no path to victory Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Seth Moulton A Massachusetts congressman, Moulton is a former US soldier who is best known for trying to stop Nancy Pelosi from becoming speaker of the house. He dropped out of the race after not polling well in key states Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Jay Inslee Inslee has been governor of Washington since 2013. His bid was centred around climate change AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Hickenlooper The former governor of Colorado aimed to sell himself as an effective leader who was open to compromise, but failed to make a splash on the national stage Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tim Ryan Ohio representative Tim Ryan ran on a campaign that hinged on his working class roots, though his messaging did not appear to resonate with voters Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tom Steyer Democratic presidential hopeful billionaire and philanthropist Tom Steyer is a longtime Democratic donor AFP/Getty

It also reflected a continue high for Mr Biden’s campaign, which saw its two biggest polling leads against Mr Trump since it launched in late-April in the last two weeks. The former vice president also had a 16-point lead against Mr Trump in the latest Quinnipiac polling.

While the former vice president remains the frontrunner to beat Mr Trump in a variety of national polls, candidates like Ms Warren, Ms Harris and Mr Sanders have also made significant gains against Mr Biden and there are still several months to go before the first round of primary voting in February.

The poll generally reflects other national surveys that all seem to show each of the top five candidates (and several others) holding leads against Mr Trump. That fact alone should cause doubt about the president’s claims that it is a “phony suppression poll” that was released as part of a coordinated effort between polling companies, media entities and their alleged “Democrat partners”. Moreover, that is not how polling works, and the nationwide joint-poll has been tracking public opinion about the 2020 race for months.

Mr Trump is correct in stating the poll is “hypothetical”. That is true because all polls are hypothetical.

Polling reflects snapshots in time of voters’ attitudes towards candidates and cannot predict outcomes with 100 per cent accuracy. However, the significant gains seen by Democratic candidates against the president — at a time when his approval rating appears to be dipping from his career high of 44 per cent in the middle of the summer — may show weakening support for a second term of Mr Trump's presidency.

Mr Trump’s approval rating fell by 5 per cent since mid-summer to 38 per cent in the latest polling, which also reflected increased fear of a potential oncoming recession.

The president’s popularity has taken a hit amid increasing fears his trade dispute with China will result in global economic decline, as well as several major controversies plaguing his White House.

He has been accused of using his presidency to float his private businesses, hosting world leaders and even US officials like Vice President Mike Pence at Trump properties around the world. Mr Trump also stirred controversy when he suggested hosting the next G7 summit at his financially-struggling resort in Florida — a move House Democrats have vowed to investigate.

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