President Donald Trump on Monday continued his attack on "fake and fraudulent polling," saying it should be considered "a criminal offense" as he accused legacy media outlets of deliberately misleading voters and trying to influence elections.
In a lengthy post on Truth Social, Trump argued that major media organizations knowingly published inaccurate polls during the 2024 election cycle in an effort to suppress voter enthusiasm and shape public perception.
"Fake and Fraudulent Polling should be, virtually, a criminal offense," wrote Trump, who pointed to polls promoted by outlets such as The New York Times, ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, and MSNBC, claiming they were "knowingly wrong" and bore "nothing even close to the final results."
Trump said those polls were designed to influence the election, despite what he described as a decisive victory.
"I won in a Landslide, including winning the Popular Vote, all 7 of the 7 Swing States, the Electoral College was a rout, and 2,750 Counties to 525," he wrote. "You can't do much better than that."
Trump also criticized Fox News and The Wall Street Journal polling at times, while praising independent pollsters who accurately captured voter sentiment but were largely ignored by the mainstream press.
"There are great Pollsters that called the Election right, but the Media does not want to use them in any way, shape, or form," Trump said, calling the situation a "Polling SCAM" and lamenting the state of American journalism.
The remarks follow Trump's ongoing legal battle with The New York Times.
Trump last week said he plans to add the Times/Siena poll to his defamation lawsuit against the paper, accusing it of publishing "fake results" heavily skewed toward Democrats.
The latest Times/Siena poll shows Trump with a 40% approval rating and 56% disapproval after one year back in office.
The survey also claimed nearly half of respondents believe the country is worse off under Trump, a finding the president flatly rejected.
"The Times Siena Poll, which is always tremendously negative to me, especially just before the Election of 2024, where I won in a Landslide, will be added to my lawsuit," Trump wrote in a separate post Thursday.
He said his legal team has demanded records detailing how the poll was conducted and calculated.
Trump initially filed suit against the Times and several reporters last year, accusing them of defamation during coverage of his 2024 campaign.
While a federal judge dismissed the first filing, Trump refiled the lawsuit in October, and the case remains active.
Conservatives have long argued that establishment polling routinely underrepresents Republican voters, particularly working-class and rural Americans, while amplifying Democrat turnout narratives.
Several high-profile polling misses in recent election cycles have fueled skepticism about the credibility of mainstream surveys.
Trump said he intends to keep pressure on media organizations he believes are abusing their influence.
"They have become deranged and sick," he wrote. "They suffer from TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME. They have to pay a price for FAKE AND FRAUDULENT NEWS — and hopefully, they will."
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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