Poll Vaulting

Oh, dear God – it wasn't just a lunatic "threat," but Trump actually, really, truly did have his re-election campaign lawyers send a cease-and-desist letter to CNN for having published their poll results.  And apparently they did have an outside firm, the not-especially well-regarded McLaughlin Associates, analyze the results.

What a whiny little petulant child Trump is.  It's almost a miracle he hasn't threatened to sue every pollster, since after all every one of them have him behind Joe Biden -- by a lot.  Maybe he thinks this was a good idea for his base, but it was a brain-dead idea.  What a shock Trump is lost with the pandemic & Black Lives Matter.

But best of all is the response from CNN.  At first I thought maybe it was from The Onion.  But it was tweeted on the CNN account, and I found it on the CNN website.

And you have to love the CNN lawyer’s name – David Vigilante.  And no, again, this is not The Onion.

I have almost nothing to add to this.  Some things are just right and say all that needs to be said.  I do feel compelled to note a couple of thoughts about why the Trump cease-and-decease letter is so idiotic, beyond the obvious.  First is that there are two other polls with almost the same results -- showing Trump behind by 10/11 points, which is within the margin of error -- and there was no cease-and-desist letter sent to them.  This not only shows the letter to be childish and empty, but if the threat ever wet to court is probably all the evidence CNN would need to get it thrown out.  And second, since CNN was never going to retract its poll, and since a lawsuit could never go anywhere for the reason stated and more, the only reasonable outcome from sending the letter is ridicule and humiliation, pretty much the exact opposite of looking tough to anybody.

I can only keep repeating -- no, this is not The Onion.  

​I've embedded the text at the end in case the graphic of the original letter isn't sharp enough, though I think it should be.

If you have a hard time reading the graphic of the original letter, here's the text below --

​Dear Ms. Ellis,

This responds to your letter dated lune 9, 2020.

To my knowledge, this is the first time in is 40 year history that CNN

had been threatened with legal action because an American politician or

campaign did not like CNN's polling results.

To the extent we have received legal threat from political leaders in

the past, they have typically come from countries like Venezuela or other

regimes where there is little or no respect for a free and independent

media.

CNN is well aware of the reputation John McLaughlin and McLaughlin

Associates. In 2014 his firm famously reported that Eric Cantor was

leading his primary challenger Dave Brat by 34 points only to lose by 11

points -- a 45 point swing. The firm currently has a rating from

FiveThirtyEight.

In any event, McLaughlin was able to evaluate and criticize CNN's most

recent poll because CNN is transparent and publishes its methodology

along with its polling results. Because of this, McLaughlin was free to

publish his own critique of CNN's analysis and share his criticisms

across the U.S. media landscape. That's how free speech works. It's the

American way.

Your letter is factually and legally baseless. It is yet another bad

faith attempt by the campaign to threaten litigation to muzzle speech it

does not want voters to read or hear. Your allegations and demands are

rejected in their entirety.

Very Truly Yours,

David C. Vigilante