Donald Trump has baffled Republicans and reporters by organizing a weekend rally in solidly blue Connecticut despite facing sagging poll numbers in crucial battleground states like Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania.

The GOP presidential nominee is slated to make a campaign stop in Fairfield, Conn., on Saturday and has reportedly reached out to city officials in Hartford and Bridgeport with requests to host separate rallies in either city on the same day.

As soon as the Trump campaign released its weekend schedule, questions emerged about why the candidate would choose to visit a state that has not voted for a Republican presidential candidate since George H.W. Bush, who happened to be born in New Haven, Conn., defeated Michael Dukakis in 1988, and is by no means considered a swing state.

Some journalists took to Twitter to mock Trump's strategy, publicly wondering why he would travel to Connecticut when a series of battleground state polls released this week found him sinking in states that are likely to determine the fate of his White House bid. For example, an NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll released Friday morning showed him trailing Hillary Clinton by 5 percentage points in Florida, 9 percentage points in North Carolina, 13 percentage points in Virginia and 14 percentage points in Colorado.

Others predicted the state's proximity to New York City would bring additional press coverage.


Considering Trump has held an event every day this week, perhaps campaigning in the Nutmeg State is an opportunity for him to reach voters without venturing too far from home.

Or he plans to attend a fundraiser after his rally in Fairfield, which happens to be located in Connecticut's wealthiest county.

Or Trump agrees with what campaign chairman Paul Manafort, a Connecticut native, told reporters at the Republican National Convention last month: "Yes, Connecticut is in play. It's in play because the citizens of Connecticut are tired of the same things the people of the country, the United States, are tired of, which is bad leadership.

A spokeswoman for the Trump campaign did not return the Washington Examiner's request for comment.