Trump threatens to sue Des Moines Register over poll, promises more lawsuits against news outlets after ABC News settlement
CBSDEC 2024
Trump Sues Des Moines Register, Iowa Pollster
Image copyright: Salwan Georges/Contributor/The Washington Post via Getty Images
The Spin
Republican narrative
Selzer's poll was so wildly inaccurate the only explanation is that it was meant to manipulate voters into thinking the state was swinging Democratic. Even worse, Democrats leaked it early for maximum effect. There's historic precedent for this poll erroneously favoring a Democratic candidate. This type of election interference must stop and that's what this suit hopes to achieve.
Democratic narrative
Trump's fixation on this particular poll and newspaper stems from his relentless desire to silence all reporting that's critical of him. Lawsuits are his weapon of choice, and he's been empowered by ABC News capitulating to his defamation filing. Hopefully, the Register and other media entities Trump has similarly sued will stand strong with the law behind them to fight this intimidation.