A former White House senior staff member who ran President Barack Obama's re-election campaign in 2012 tore into public polling on Friday, remarking that "all public pollsters should be shot."
Jim Messina, appearing on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," told co-host Joe Scarborough that ballots forecasting how people will vote in November mean nothing at this time of year, Mediaite is reporting.
"The generic ballots do not matter until August of the election year, that's what history teaches us," Messina said.
"What you care more about is passionate intensity. When I ran President Obama's campaign, the number I looked at everyday was intensity. Are my voters more motivated than Republican voters?. . .
"Don't go generic. It's going to jump all over the place. . . Joe, you know how I feel about public polls. I think all public pollsters should be shot. I think the whole thing is stupid."
Messina, 48, most recently worked as a campaign strategist for British Prime Minister Theresa May in the 2017 United Kingdom elections. He is also founder of The Messina Group, a consulting firm.
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