Trump keeps broaching the possibility of losing

Donald Trump says he’s confident he’ll be president, but in recent days he has repeatedly broached another possible outcome: Losing.

Now trailing Hillary Clinton in a variety polls, the uber-confident Trump has blamed Republican in-fighting, “unfair” media coverage, and the threat of “cheating” as possible reasons for a potential loss in the Nov. 8 general election.

“Can you imagine how badly I’ll feel if I spend all of that money … all of this energy … all of this time — and lost?” Trump told supporters during a rally this weekend in Fairfield, Conn., a Democratic-leaning state where Clinton also leads in pre-election polls.

“I will never ever forgive the people of Connecticut,” Trump said. “I will never forgive the people of Florida and Pennsylvania and Ohio — but I love them anyway.”

As he warns of a possible loss, Trump and his aides are soliciting an army of poll watchers over the candidate’s concerns that the election could be “rigged” for Clinton, and that he could be “cheated” in key states like Pennsylvania. “The only way we can lose, in my opinion — I really mean this, Pennsylvania — is if cheating goes on ” Trump told supporters Friday in the mid-state city of Altoona.

In urging backers to become poll watchers, Trump said, “go down to certain areas and watch and study and make sure other people don’t come in and vote five times.”

The plea comes amid a slide in polls since the Republican and Democratic conventions of last month. The Real Clear Politics website average of recent national polls gives Clinton a 6.8 percentage point lead over Trump, 47.8% to 41%.

The businessman-turned-politician is also trailing in states essential to efforts to assemble to the 270 or more electoral votes needed to win the presidency, a group that includes Florida and Ohio as well as Pennsylvania.