WASHINGTON – U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against the Des Moines Register and its top pollster, J. Ann Selzer, alleging “brazen election interference” over a poll published days before the Nov. 5 presidential election. The suit, filed on Monday night in Iowa’s Polk County, also names the newspaper’s parent company, Gannett, as a defendant, Fox News reported.
The Des Moines Register’s final poll, released on Nov. 2, showed Democratic candidate Kamala Harris leading Trump by 13 percentage points in Iowa. Trump ultimately won the state in the election, and the poll has since been a target of his criticism.
“In my opinion, it was fraud and it was election interference,” Trump told reporters on Monday. The lawsuit comes on the heels of his recent legal victory, a settlement with ABC News over another defamation claim. Trump has vowed to hold media organizations accountable for what he perceives as biased reporting during the election campaign.
The lawsuit seeks damages and a public acknowledgment of alleged wrongdoing by the Des Moines Register and its pollster. Gannett representatives have not yet commented on the lawsuit.
Trump’s legal actions underscore his continued campaign against media organizations, particularly those he accuses of undermining his candidacy. Critics, however, argue the lawsuits are an attempt to intimidate the press and suppress unfavorable coverage. This latest case adds to the growing list of Trump’s post-election legal battles, signaling his intent to maintain a combative stance against media outlets he views as adversarial.