Iowa pollster, newspaper become Trump's latest press targets

Donald Trump has sued a pollster and newspaper over a pre-election survey that vastly underestimated his support, a move decried by rights groups as part of a larger anti-press effort by the US president-elect.

Trump's lawsuit was filed Monday evening in the central US state of Iowa, naming the pollster Ann Selzer, the Des Moines Register newspaper and its parent company Gannett as defendants.

The suit revolves around a poll conducted by Selzer that showed Trump trailing Democratic nominee Kamala Harris by three points in the state.

The poll -- published days before the November 5 election -- was a shock given Trump's easy victories there in 2016 and 2020, and boosted Democratic hopes that other surveys showing an exceedingly tight race were actually overestimating the Republican's support.

Trump went on to win Iowa by 13 points, dealing a blow to Selzer's reputation.

In his lawsuit, Trump accuses Selzer and co-defendants of "brazen election interference," and seeks unspecified damages under Iowa's "unfair practices" law.

The poll was "just a piece of political theater concocted by an individual -- Selzer," the suit alleges, saying she "should have known better than to poison the electorate with a poll that was nothing more than a work of fantasy."

When contacted by AFP on Tuesday, Selzer's office declined to comment.

Lark-Marie Anton, a spokesperson for the Des Moines Register, said the lawsuit was "without merit."

The newspaper already acknowledged the poll "did not reflect the ultimate margin of President Trump's Election Day victory in Iowa," Anton said.

She noted they had previously released weighted and unweighted data behind the poll, among other information, and that Selzer had published a "technical explanation."

"We stand by our reporting on the matter," Anton said.

- 'Larger effort' -
 

The Knight First Amendment Institute, a group at Columbia University dedicated to promoting free speech rights, slammed the lawsuit as "part of a larger effort by President-elect Trump to prevent the press from reporting on issues of vital public interest."

"This lawsuit is a non-starter under the First Amendment," said Anna Diakun, a Knight Institute staff attorney.

"The court should dismiss it quickly," she said in a statement.

Rick Hasen, a law professor at the University of California in Los Angeles, similarly wrote on his Election Law blog that he did not "expect this lawsuit to go anywhere" due to US free speech protections.

The Iowa lawsuit comes just days after ABC News settled claims by Trump of defamation, in which the outlet agreed to pay $15 million to a future presidential museum and foundation, and an additional $1 million for Trump's legal fees.

ABC News faced criticism over settling the case, which revolved around language used while reporting sexual assault allegations against Trump, with several legal scholars arguing the outlet would have likely prevailed in court.

Trump has made attacks on the media a hallmark of his political identity since his rise to power, recently describing the press as "bloodsuckers" and "corrupt."

On Monday, he said he planned to launch more proceedings against media outlets, including CBS News' "60 Minutes," which he accused of manipulating an interview with Harris to support her candidacy.