Amid Fallout From Minneapolis Shooting, Trump Again Attacks His Poor Poll Results: “Fraudulent,” “Should Be A Criminal Offense”

26 Jan 2026, 15:42 · Yahoo News

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As his administration struggles to deal with the fallout from the latest Minneapolis shooting, Donald Trump has gone back to raging about polls.

Even before a federal agent shot and killed Alex Pretti, Trump’s support on one of his key issues, immigration, was falling and in negative territory in a number of surveys.

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Trump posted on Truth Social, “Fake and Fraudulent Polling should be, virtually, a criminal offense. As an example, all of the Anti Trump Media that covered me during the 2020 Election showed Polls that were knowingly wrong. They knew what they were doing, trying to influence the Election, but I won in a Landslide, including winning the Popular Vote, all 7 of the 7 Swing States, the Electoral College was a route, and 2,750 Counties to 525. You can’t do much better than that, and yet if people examined The Failing New York Times, ABC Fake News, NBC Fake News, CBS Fake News, Low Ratings CNN, or the now defunct MSDNC, Polls were all fraudulent, and bore nothing even close to the final results.”

Trump appeared to be referencing not the 2020 election, which he lost, but the 2024 election. In the latter, many polls showed the race very close, and within the margin of error, up until the end. Some post-election analyses showed that pollsters underestimated support for Trump, but not by much.

The final Real Clear Politics average was 48.7% for Harris and 48.6% for Trump, per an NBC News analysis. The final result was 49.8% for Trump and 48.3% for Harris. The most contested swing states — Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan — also were tight and well within the margin of error, per NBC News.

Trump added, “Something has to be done about Fraudulent Polling. Even the Polls of FoxNews and The Wall Street Journal have been, over the years, terrible! There are great Pollsters that called the Election right, but the Media does not want to use them in any way, shape, or form. Isn’t it sad what has happened to American Journalism, but I am going to do everything possible to keep this Polling SCAM from moving forward!”

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News polling is protected by the First Amendment, but Trump has sought to litigate those who were off. He sued pollster Ann Selzer and the Des Moines Register over a 2024 pre-election poll showing him behind in Iowa, yet he went on to win the state. His lawsuit cited an Iowa consumer law, and his state litigation is pending.

Last week, following a poor New York Times/Siena Poll, Trump said he would sue the publication, adding a claim to a defamation lawsuit he filed last year. The poll showed that 49% of those surveyed said that the country was worse off under Trump, versus 32% who said better.

Charlie Stadtlander, a spokesman for the Times, said in a statement last week, “President Trump likes polls that appear favorable to him and dislikes polls that do not. But whether a poll is good or bad for the president has no bearing on our methodology. We aim to produce the most reliable survey of public opinion possible, and our polls have been widely cited for their rigor.”

Pretti was killed on Saturday by one or more federal agents. The Trump administration claimed that the 37-year-old nurse “wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.” But bystander videos quickly disputed that claim. Even though Pretti was carrying a firearm, analyses from CNN, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post concluded that an officer took what appeared to be Pretti’s gun from him before he was shot.

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The shooting of Pretti has led to national outrage, with Democrats vowing to withhold votes on Department of Homeland Security funding and conservative voices, like The Wall Street Journal editorial page, calling for a pause in ICE operations.

Earlier on Monday, Trump announced a move that has led to speculation of a shake up among those leading his immigration crackdown. He said that he would be sending his border czar, Tom Homan, to Minnesota, calling him “tough but fair.” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Homan would be managing ICE operations on the ground, a move that seemingly undercuts the role of Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

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