It was no different in 2016. Remember, the NYT was showing Clinton with a 99% chance of winning all the way up to election day as the electoral votes kept piling up for Trump, and when the whole "pussy" tape came out every media site said Trump's campaign was effectively over and the election decided. His opponent didn't matter in 2016 either.

This time, instead of dealing with that tape, he's going into the election with a Supreme Court justice getting confirmed.