Trump Files Lawsuit Against Paper
Donald Trump’s legal team has been on a tear, and his latest lawsuit against the Des Moines Register and its pollster, J. Ann Selzer, throws a spotlight on a growing battlefield: the media’s role in elections and the accuracy of polling. Trump’s suit, filed under the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act, accuses Selzer and the Register of “brazen election interference” over their final 2024 poll showing Vice President Kamala Harris leading in Iowa—despite Trump’s actual landslide win in the state by over 13 points.
The lawsuit is as pointed as it is strategic. Selzer’s poll, published just three days before Election Day, shocked many when it claimed Harris had pulled ahead by 3 points. Iowa—a state that had solidified itself as reliably red in recent years—had been Trump territory, so this poll created a media firestorm. Yet when the dust settled, Trump won Iowa by a resounding margin, making the poll not just inaccurate but an outlier that Trump’s lawyers now call election-interfering fiction.
Team Trump’s argument is clear: Selzer’s polling created a false narrative of inevitability for Harris, potentially swaying voters, shifting resources, and misleading the public at a critical moment.
While inaccurate polling isn’t new, Trump’s legal team is framing this particular case as a deliberate attempt to manipulate perceptions of the race. And the timing? Suspicious, to say the least. The lawsuit points out that Selzer, long regarded as a gold-standard pollster, “retired in disgrace” shortly after the election—an exit Trump’s team isn’t letting go unnoticed.
The lawsuit cuts deeper by tying Selzer’s polling to a broader theme Trump’s team has been hammering for years: the idea that mainstream institutions, including pollsters and media outlets, act as agents of the Democratic Party. “Fake polling,” the lawsuit argues, doesn’t just skew public perception—it influences campaign strategies, diverting precious time and resources. For Trump’s camp, this wasn’t a statistical miss. It was intentional interference.
This lawsuit comes on the heels of a high-profile settlement with ABC News and anchor George Stephanopoulos, where Trump walked away with $15 million and an apology over defamatory claims. Combined with recent legal victories—including Jack Smith’s dropped cases and favorable motions in New York—Trump’s legal team, led by Boris Epshteyn, is flexing its muscle, flipping the narrative on those who have long targeted him.
Politically, the Register lawsuit serves multiple purposes. First, it reinforces Trump’s long-held grievance that media bias and election interference aren’t just opinion—they’re actionable offenses. Second, it sets a precedent that pollsters, once untouchable guardians of political data, can be held accountable if their work crosses into manipulation. And finally, it energizes Trump’s base. To his supporters, this is yet another example of Trump fighting back against what they see as entrenched institutions trying to undermine him.
Critics will argue that Trump’s lawsuits are politically motivated, part of a broader effort to discredit mainstream media and polling. But the stakes here are real. Polls carry immense weight in shaping election narratives, fundraising strategies, and turnout expectations. If Selzer’s poll was as far off as the numbers suggest, Trump’s team may well have a case for questioning the ethics and methodology behind it.
And this isn’t happening in a vacuum. Trump’s parallel lawsuit against CBS News for $10 billion in damages over an interview with Kamala Harris highlights how seriously he’s taking the media’s role in this election cycle. He’s framing himself not just as a candidate but as a defender against what his team calls “deceptive conduct” aimed at tilting the electoral scales.