Trump says Ann Selzer Iowa poll is “suppression” and “should be illegal”

Former President Donald Trump has branded top Iowa pollster Ann Selzer a “Trump-hater”, and described her weekend poll, which put Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of him by 3 points, as “suppression”.

The Republican nominee said that the poll, which showed Harris leading in the Hawkeye state despite Trump winning it last election, should be “illegal”, claiming it was designed to suppress the Republican vote on Election Day.

The poll showed Harris leading Trump by 3 percent in Iowa, giving the Democrat some much-needed momentum in the Midwest as the election comes to a close. The poll, conducted between October 28-31, found that 47 percent of likely voters would choose the vice president if the election were held on the day they were surveyed, while 44 percent of voters said they would choose Trump.

Several of Selzer’s polls have been accurate historically, with correct predictions in the 2008, 2012, and 2016 elections.

However, that didn’t stop Donald Trump from rejecting the numbers, saying on Truth Social over the weekend that the poll was run by “a Trump hater who called it totally wrong the last time.” In 2020, Selzer predicted Trump would win Iowa with 48 percent to President Joe Biden’s 41 percent with the final result turning out at 53.1 percent to 44.9 percent.

At a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Sunday, Trump referenced the poll in his speech, saying: “It’s called suppression. They suppress, and it actually should be illegal.”

The Trump campaign doubled down on these statements, releasing a memo that read: “On Saturday, top Democrats appear to have received early access to an absurd outlier poll of Iowa conducted by The Des Moines Register.

“Not to be outdone, The New York Times arrived right on cue with another set of polling data being used to drive a voter suppression narrative against President Trump’s supporters.

“Some in the media are choosing to amplify a mad dash to dampen and diminish voter enthusiasm. It has not worked. Our voters are like President Trump: they fight.”

In a statement responding to backlash over the surprising numbers, which indicates a potential Harris landslide, Selzer told Newsweek: “These are the kinds of comments seen for virtually any poll, including mine. The Des Moines Register includes a methodology statement with each story they publish.

“It’s the same methodology used to show Trump winning Iowa in the final polls in 2016 and 2020. It would not be in my best interest, or that of my clients—The Des Moines Register and Mediacom—to conjure fake numbers.”

Newsweek contacted The Des Moines Register for a response to the comments via email.

Other polling released over the weekend showed conflicting news, with Harris receiving a boost in the Midwest in the final Sienna College/New York Times poll, which put her ahead in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, and Trump getting solid numbers in the final Morning Consult poll, which put him in the lead for Georgia and Arizona.

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