"Trump is entering the final stretch of the campaign in an historically bad place." This is how CNN characterized U.S. President Donald Trump's position in the 2020 election in a post-Republican National Convention report.

Trump is no stranger to negative coverage, especially about his political future. Four years ago, most people believed he was doomed to be an "also-run" until the moment he won. Four years later, trapped in all kinds of predicaments, Americans can't help but think, again, that he's going to lose. For some, it's a scary thought. But there's no guarantee Joe Biden's lead won't collapse, just as Hillary Clinton's in 2016.

So the big question on everyone's mind is: "Will the 2020 U.S. presidential election be a repeat of 2016?"

CNN's Editor-at-Large Chris Cillizza said that "the only constant between 2016 and 2020 is Trump. And even he isn't exactly the same because he ran as a billionaire businessman, an outsider in 2016. And now, he is the incumbent president of the United States. Literally, everything else around Trump has changed."

Of course, we can't dismiss how COVID-19, Black Lives Matter or the China-U.S. relationship have impacted the race. But Trump has shown a remarkable ability to climb out of political troughs.

A recent NBC News/Survey Monkey Weekly Tracking Poll shows that his approval rating has been stable, even improving since July. But COVID-19 infections and fatalities in the U.S. have steadily increased during the same period.

Racial tensions in the U.S. didn't help Trump's ratings among minorities. A Gallup poll had Trump's approval numbers among African Americans constantly around 10 percent. But only eight percent of black voters voted for Trump in 2016, and yet he became president.

I might not like to admit it, but poking China doesn't seem to damage Trump. China's unfavorability in the U.S. has reached the highest in Pew Research Center's polling history. Creating an enemy is sometimes the easiest, and most cynical way to unite one's people.

Frank Luntz, Veteran Republican Pollster, describes Trump as "very difficult individual to measure, he's as controversial as any president we've ever had... we are going to have the highest turnout in this campaign that we've had in a long, long time in the U.S… we could see someone leading on election night that as the days go by as they count the postal votes, the lead switches."

The outcome can't be certain until all the votes are counted, and that might be weeks after the Election Day. Biden has the lead now, but Trump still stands a fighting chance. And polling in presidential elections isn't necessarily reliable.

"There's also this new phenomenon that we've seen in this age of hyper politics in the United States where there was a poll showing 65 percent of the people said they wouldn't tell people what their political views are, because they didn't want to be called names," said Barry Bennett, former senior advisor to the Trump campaign.

When almost every indicator pointed to a Trump loss in 2016, he won. Now, as the incumbent president and the most well-financed candidate in the race, he has more resources at his disposal. Just because he is lagging now, it doesn't give anyone a reason to count him out.

I'm not advocating for a particular candidate or rooting for either one. I'm not predicting the outcome of the race – it's just way too early for that. But what I am trying to convey is that Trump proved that he is a survivor. By luck or ability, he seems to be persisting through the maelstrom that's called U.S. presidency.

So for those who don't want to re-live the 2016 General Election, brace yourself.

Scriptwriter: Huang Jiyuan

Video editor: Feng Ran

Cameraman: Yang Yang 

Managing editor: Zhao Yuanzhen

Chief Editor: Li Shou'en

Senior producer: Bi Jianlu

Managing director: Mei Yan

Supervisor: Fan Yun

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com.)