President-elect Donald Trump called for an investigation into retired Iowa pollster J. Ann Selzer as he accused her of undermining trust in the 2024 election.
Selzer’s (inaccurate) Iowa reporting threatened to upend the state’s results, however Trump went on toe decisively win the Buckeye State.
“A totally Fake poll that caused great distrust and uncertainty at a very critical time. She knew exactly what she was doing,” Trump posted to his Truth Social site.
In the post, Trump thanked the “GREAT PEOPLE OF IOWA” for their votes, despite alleged possible “ELECTION FRAUD” by Selzer and the newspaper that published the poll, The Des Moines Register.
“An investigation is fully called for!” Trump added.
Just days before the election, Selzer’s survey, which found Vice President Harris leading Trump in Iowa, sent shockwaves nationwide. Trump went on to win the state by more than 20,000 votes.
Selzer announced in a column on Sunday that she will retire from the Register’s Iowa Poll.
Selzer, who has worked on a contract basis for the Register since 1997, said she would have liked to have made the announcement after polling lined up with the election results and admitted “it’s ironic” that it’s the opposite.
Selzer’s poll was widely cited during the final days of the campaign, raising questions about whether its projections shaped voter sentiment or campaign strategies.
As much as he is probably right, this is unlikely to go anywhere. There is no requirement for a pollster to be accurate. I just think President Trump needs to focus on the mission and not the noise.