Trump calls unfavorable polls 'fake,' says Election Day is the 'real poll'

US President Donald Trump, campaigning five days before the midterm elections, dismissed polls showing unfavorable conditions for Republicans on Thursday (local time), calling them "fake investigations that just made up numbers."

Speaking at a rally in South Carolina, Trump targeted polling organizations directly. "They didn't actually conduct a survey — they just made up the numbers," Trump said.

"They claim to have pollsters all across the country, but in reality there's nobody there — just someone sitting at a desk with a lot of money in a bank account," Trump said, adding that published polling results were "not real" and "completely fake."

"I don't believe in polls. I think the real poll is Election Day," Trump said, insisting that the true measure of public sentiment would come through the election results.

Trump also asked the crowd of supporters at the rally whether any of them had ever been polled, then declared, "I've never seen a single Republican who has been."

The remarks were widely seen as a bid to forcefully deny polling that shows Trump's approval rating at a record low, Republicans at risk of losing their House majority to the Democratic Party, and the Senate in jeopardy — while also sending a message to Republican supporters who might be discouraged enough by the numbers to stay home on Election Day.

Trump traveled to South Carolina to campaign for Darlene Graham, the Republican candidate for US Senate.

It was Trump's second visit to the state in eight days, having last been there on Oct. 21. Even this Deep South Republican stronghold has grown uncertain, with Graham facing a strong challenge from Democratic candidate Annie Andrews.

Trump attacked Andrews as an "advocate for child gender transitions," while continuing to go after Democratic Senate candidates in other competitive states.

Of Michigan candidate Abdul El-Sayed, Trump said El-Sayed was "clearly a member of the Muslim Brotherhood" and called Black and Jewish voters who supported El-Sayed "crazy."

Trump mocked Texas candidate James Talarico by calling him "TalaFREAKo" — a portmanteau of his surname and the word "freak" — and said Talarico "doesn't want meat, oil or guns" despite running in Texas.

Turning to Alaska candidate Mary Peltola, who has been linked to a scheme involving look-alike candidates on the ballot, Trump said Peltola should be removed from the ballot and indicted, calling the alleged scheme "criminal activity because what they did was collusion."

Trump also promoted his tariff policy, citing the trade dispute with Canada — a factor analysts have tied to his sliding approval ratings. "We lost $90 billion because of Canada last year," Trump said. "We put tariffs on them and recently they've been treating us extremely nicely."