For over a year people have laughed at the idea of a Trump presidency. Many wrote off his chances of winning a single primary, let alone the Republican nomination. A record breaking 14 million votes later and months at the top of the GOP ticket, many still didn’t give Trump the slightest chance in the general election. Now with less than 50 days until Election Day, Trump trails Hillary Clinton by as little as one percent in many polls.

Despite this, many still refuse to entertain the now very real possibility that Donald Trump could be the 45^th President of the United States. This is in part due to the fact that general election polls aren’t given as much credit as polls in swing states. According to RealClearPolitics.com, given their average of polls, they project Hillary Clinton to win by a score of 293-245. However, Trump is gaining momentum, since August he has pulled ahead in the polls in five states, including Georgia, Florida and Ohio. Not to mention he has gained significant ground and come within striking distance in North Carolina, Nevada, Colorado and Virginia. If Trump holds onto all of his leads and wins any combination of those three states, then he wins the Presidency.

While it may be hard to keep momentum all the way to November and win three extra states, one of which is Tim Kaine’s home state, it is not as impossible as many would like to make you think. Trump is surging and gaining ground after a series of bad weeks for the Clinton campaign with scandals regarding her emails, the Clinton Foundation, and her health. Despite all the recent bad press, just around the corner is the first Presidential debate. This will be without a doubt a make or break event for both candidates, but it is the perfect opportunity for Trump to keep his momentum.

Many still believe that Trump will not perform well in the debates given his performance during primary season, resorting to petty insults without any real policy discussion. However, primary season also showed us Hillary was not the best debater. Often in her debates with Sanders, she was called out for dodging questions, double talking, and contradicting. Donald Trump should steal a page from Bernie’s playbook on September 26^th if he wants to keep his momentum. If Trump stays on message while also exposing Hillary’s lies on a national scale, then he might just ride this wave of momentum all the way to the White House.