Even the head of a pro-Donald Trump super PAC admits the GOP presidential nominee would "lose badly" if the election were held today.
"If we're sitting here three weeks from now after Labor Day and it's in the same position, we're gonna have a hard, uphill battle," Ed Rollins said Wednesday on the Laura Ingraham radio show. "He'd lose badly today."
BuzzFeed posted audio of the show on its website.
Trump does have a chance to win Nov. 8, Rollins told Ingraham, saying new campaign manager Kellyanne Conway is "a great talent" and campaign CEO Steve Bannon is a "a very effective communicator."
Trump, Rollins said, "has a new shot here, but he's got to drive it, and he's got to talk about the kinds of things that matter to Americans."
Trump must shift his focus back to Democrat Hillary Clinton.
"So far, it's been all about him, and, kind of, with his ego he kind of likes that. But at the end of the day, it's got to be about her. He's got to make her the unacceptable alternative to this country and that he's the real leader."
Trump must make his message "he's the leader, she's not; he's a decision maker, she's not" and must push the narrative, "I have plans to get people back to work, I have plans to fight ISIS, the military wants me as the commander in chief."