Trump calls Ann Selzer a 'hater' and claims Iowa polls are 'suppression,' pollster responds

Iowa polls showed Kamala Harris in the lead on Saturday, predicting her victory on November 5 in the state. This was followed by Donald Trump's criticism of the survey. The former president used his Truth Social platform to denounce the poll and its new findings, which he had won twice before. Pollster Ann Selzer has now responded to Trump's scathing comments about his survey in an email to Newsweek.

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Seltzer responds to Trump's criticism

Trump wrote on his platform on Sunday, November 3, “No president has done more for FARMERS and the great state of Iowa than Donald J. Trump.” In fact, it's not even close! All the polls except one, which was heavily tilted in favor of the Democrats by a Trump hater who called the last one completely wrong, have kept me WAY up. I LOVE THE FARMERS AND THEY LOVE ME. THE JUST EMERSON POLL GOT ME AHEAD BY 10 POINTS IN IOWA. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!”

In one of his speeches on Sunday in Pennsylvania, he called Sezler a “Trump hater” and said, “That's called repression. “They're repressing, and it should actually be illegal,” citing the polls.

The Iowa poll, conducted by Selzer & Co for the Des Moines Register and Mediacom, found Harris was supported by 47 percent of Iowans, while Trump was supported by 44 percent.

Selzer responded to Trump's criticism in an email to the news outlet, writing, “These types of comments are seen in virtually every poll, including mine.” The Des Moines Register includes a methodology statement with every story it publishes. It's the same method used to show Trump won Iowa in the last elections in 2016 and 2020. It would not be in my best interest or the best interest of my customers – The Des Moines Register and Mediacom – to conjure up false numbers.”

Trump senior adviser Jason Miller commented on the polls, describing them as “every cycle there's an idiotic poll,” according to X-contributions from reporters at CNN and NBC.

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Why are Selzer's polls important?

Selzer's poll results were in stark contrast to the results of the other polls in which Trump was leading. This included Emerson College polls that showed Trump winning by 9 points and were also released on Saturday.

The Iowa poll results are important because Selzer has a reputation for being very accurate in last-minute polls with shocking revelations. Just before the 2020 US election, their polls showed Trump leading at 48 percent, while Joe Biden was supported at 41 percent. This year, Trump won Iowa with 53 percent, while Biden received 45 percent support in the state.