President-elect Donald Trump is stepping up his legal fight against the media, filing a lawsuit against the Des Moines Register, pollster J. Ann Selzer, her polling firm, and the newspaper’s parent company, Gannett.
Unlike his usual defamation suits, this one focuses on alleged violations of Iowa’s Consumer Fraud Act, which protects against deceptive advertising and sales. Trump claims a pre-election poll released by Selzer’s firm, which showed Kamala Harris leading in Iowa, was deliberately misleading and intended to influence voters.
The lawsuit comes after Trump won a $16 million settlement from ABC News in a defamation case, and he has threatened more legal action against other media outlets and pollsters. Experts say this new lawsuit may not succeed, but it marks a broader attack on what Trump sees as left-wing media bias and flawed polling during elections.
The poll, conducted in late October, showed Harris with 47% support and Trump at 44%, a surprising result in a state Trump was expected to win by a much larger margin. Trump’s team argues that the poll was designed to create a false narrative that Harris was ahead and thus influence the election outcome.
While Trump’s legal team claims “election interference,” there is no evidence that Selzer intentionally misrepresented the data. Election law expert Rick Hasen, a UCLA professor, said he doesn’t expect the case to go far.
Filed in Polk County, Iowa, the lawsuit accuses the Des Moines Register and Selzer’s firm of spreading deceptive information in violation of state law. Trump’s lawyers argue that the poll was not a coincidence but part of a larger effort to sway voters. They are seeking damages and an injunction to prevent Selzer from releasing similar polls in the future.
The lawsuit argues that “left-wing pollsters” like Selzer have manipulated public opinion with inaccurate polls. It also criticizes Selzer’s influence, claiming that her high-profile polling had the power to mislead voters.
Trump is also suing CBS, journalist Bob Woodward, and the Pulitzer Prize board. At a recent press conference, Trump called the Iowa poll “fraud” and “election interference,” suggesting more lawsuits are possible.
The Des Moines Register has defended its reporting, acknowledging that the poll didn’t match the final election results but standing by its methodology. They also released the full details of the poll, including demographic data and a technical explanation from Selzer.
“We believe this lawsuit is without merit,” said Lark-Marie Anton, a spokesperson for the Register.
For now, it’s unclear how this legal battle will play out, but it’s clear that Trump is willing to fight back against the media as part of his ongoing war against what he sees as biased coverage.
