Trump Sues Des Moines Register and J. Ann Selzer Over Iowa Poll

President-elect Trump filed a lawsuit against the Des Moines Register (Center bias) and its pollster, J. Ann Selzer, accusing them of election interference.

The Details: The final Selzer/Des Moines Register poll before the 2024 election showed Vice President Harris leading by three points in Iowa. However, Trump won the state with a 13-point lead. The lawsuit, filed under the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act, argued the poll results, released three days before election day, were intended to manipulate the election by creating "a false narrative of inevitability for Harris."

Key Quotes: “We have acknowledged that the Selzer/Des Moines Register pre-election poll did not reflect the ultimate margin of President Trump’s Election Day victory in Iowa by releasing the poll’s full demographics, crosstabs, weighted and unweighted data, as well as a technical explanation from pollster Ann Selzer,” a spokesperson for the Register said. “We stand by our reporting on the matter and believe a lawsuit would be without merit.” After the election, Selzer admitted that the poll was a "big miss" and suggested that the inaccurate poll results may have motivated Republican voters, who may have otherwise thought their victory would be guaranteed. 

How the Media Covered It: ZeroHedge (Lean Right bias) highlighted declining trust in polling. The Boston Globe (Left bias) said following a $15 million settlement with ABC News (Lean Left bias), "Trump might feel more emboldened to legally go after media outlets that have shared coverage he dislikes," emphasizing the unprecedented nature of politicians taking legal action over unfavorable polls.