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Trump’s Retribution Tour Begins

On Monday evening, Trump sued Ann Selzer, the respected pollster who incorrectly predicted a Harris victory in Iowa. Is he looking for compensation over damages or simply firing a warning shot to the industry ahead of his next term?

Donald Trump
As with Trump’s other recent and ongoing lawsuits against media organizations, the objective isn’t to win but rather to intimidate. Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Tara Palmeri
December 17, 2024

With five weeks until his return to the White House, Donald Trump is already delivering on his promise to wage legal vendettas against political enemies and journalists, alike. On Monday night, less than 48 hours after securing a $15 million settlement from ABC News, Trump filed a lawsuit in Iowa District Court accusing the venerated pollster Ann Selzer and her polling company—as well as The Des Moines Register and its parent company, Gannett—of “brazen election interference” and consumer fraud over her November 2 poll showing Kamala Harris winning by three points in Iowa. As Trump lawyers Edward Paltzik and Des Moines-based attorney Alan R. Ostergren noted in the suit, “President Trump ultimately won Iowa by over thirteen points.”