The corporate media has fallen for it again, as a new poll from The Wall Street Journal that shows Trump leading Biden in six of seven swing states was paid for by Rupert Murdoch and conducted by Trump’s pollster.
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The Wall Street Journal poll appears to contain bad news for President Biden in the swing states, with Trump leading Biden on the economy, inflation, and immigration. The cable news talking heads went into overdrive about how this is all terrible news for the incumbent, and horserace, horserace, horserace, which is the only type of campaign coverage that our corporate media knows how to do. No one bothers to look under the hood at this poll.
Simon Rosenberg did, and he posted:
You can choose to look at polls paid for by Rupert Murdoch and conducted by Trump’s pollster, or you can look at the many polls conducted in recent weeks showing Dems making gains, Biden w/leads:
There have been 14 national polls released since late February showing Biden ahead. 14. Many have shown meaningful movement towards him. Even R leaning polls have shown Biden gaining.Â
Like in those final weeks before the 2022 election, R aligned polls rn are seeing a more R friendly race than most of the independent polls. It is just outside the data in front of us to say this is anything other than a close, competitive election. Trump does not lead.
Any candidate, media outlet, or poll claiming that a candidate is leading in April is either lying or playing a fool’s game. The data from more than a dozen recent polls show three things. Donald Trump is not leading. The 2024 election is close. Joe Biden is gaining in the polls.
The corporate media knows better, but it is much easier and cheaper to breathlessly tout polls than actual election coverage that talks about the issues and differences between the candidates.
The Wall Street Journal poll is a Trump-friendly poll that makes assumptions about the electorate and what that electorate will look like to get their desired result of showing Trump winning.
One reason polls are so unreliable is that they are being used for partisan messaging and shaping voter perceptions about the trajectory of elections.
Our corporate media happily plays along because narratives and drama matter more than factual reporting.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
