Nothing seems to fire up Donald Trump more than blasting the news media, and much of his final appeal to voters is based on his angry claims that the Fourth Estate is biased against him. He is now extending his argument and portraying the media as disdainful not only of him but also of everyday working people who are among his strongest backers.

Campaigning in the key battleground state of Florida Monday, Trump told a rally that the national media are intentionally issuing phony polls to make it look like he is headed for defeat on Nov. 8. Speaking in Boynton Beach, Trump said, "I believe we're actually winning." He said most major opinion polls, which show Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton leading nationally and in battleground states, are part of a "crooked system, the rigged system I've been talking about since I entered the race."

Trump said he trusts two polls as reliable, those by Investor's Business Daily and Rasmussen, and both show him ahead nationally.

Trump, a billionaire real-estate developer and the Republican presidential nominee, told WBT Radio in Charlotte, N.C., that the media are conducting a "pile-on, the likes of which nobody's ever seen."

"I'm going to protect the people, and the media are the exact opposite," Trump said.