Trump drops lawsuit against Ann Selzer over Harris poll
donald Trump has withdrawn a lawsuit against the *Des moines Register* and pollster Ann Selzer regarding a poll published shortly before the 2024 election. This poll indicated that then-Vice President Kamala Harris was leading Trump by 3% in Iowa, a finding that Trump’s team criticized as one of Selzer’s worst polling outcomes. Despite this, Trump went on to win Iowa decisively with 56% of the vote.The lawsuit, filed in December 2024, reflected Trump’s longstanding skepticism towards the media, as he claimed the poll contributed to public mistrust at a critical time. Selzer was defended pro bono by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression,which argued that the lawsuit undermined First Amendment rights. no settlement was reached as Trump voluntarily dropped the case.
Trump drops lawsuit against the Des Moines Register and Ann Selzer over 2024 poll
President Donald Trump has dropped his lawsuit against the Des Moines Register and pollster Ann Selzer over their poll published three days before the 2024 election that showed then-Vice President Kamala Harris was beating the Republican nominee in Iowa.
The poll, which plaintiffs in the lawsuit called “one of the worst polling misses of [Selzer’s] career,” showed Harris leading Trump 47%-44%. Selzer, who had been an Iowa pollster for over 20 years, announced her retirement soon after the election. Trump’s team brought the lawsuit against her and the Des Moines Register in December 2024. Trump ultimately won Iowa with 56% of the vote to Harris’s 42.7%.
The complaint reflected Trump’s well-known distrust of the media.
“Selzer’s misconduct caused ‘great distrust and uncertainty at a very critical time,’” the complaint said, quoting a Truth Social post by Trump.
Trump previously reached a $15 million defamation settlement with ABC News over on-air comments by George Stephanopoulos. The news anchor said several times while on the air that Trump was “liable for rape,” although Trump was found civilly liable for sexual abuse toward writer E. Jean Carroll rather than rape. Trump has maintained his innocence and is appealing the rulings in two defamation lawsuits brought by Carroll.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression was defending Selzer pro bono against Trump’s lawsuit. FIRE chief counsel Bob Corn-Revere told the Washington Examiner that there is no settlement.
FIRE previously said in a statement that it believes what Selzer did was legal, as she has the First Amendment “right to speak on core political issues.”
Corn-Revere was quoted in the statement saying that the lawsuit was “about as unconstitutional as it gets.”
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