Most of the headlines about CNN’s new public-opinion poll this week focused on President Donald Trump’s 38 percent approval rating. But there was also this: After a 2016 election in which most of the data underestimated Trump’s chances, CNN has a new pollster. The new poll was conducted by SSRS, […] Read more »
Trump says his political base is ‘stronger than ever’ despite polling to the contrary
President Trump declared Monday that his political base is “bigger & stronger than ever before” despite recent polling — which he branded “fake” — that shows a drop-off in support. … The Trump base is far bigger & stronger than ever before (despite some phony Fake News polling). Look at […] Read more »
Affirmative Action Is an Example of How Polls Can Mislead
Trump administration officials are preparing to challenge admissions policies they deem to be discriminatory against white students. Unsurprisingly, analysts and commentators have dredged up old poll numbers to try to figure out how it will play politically. The polls don’t tell a clear story. Some polls show that affirmative action […] Read more »
Zuckerberg hires former Clinton pollster Joel Benenson
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have hired Democratic pollster Joel Benenson, a former top adviser to President Barack Obama and the chief strategist to Hillary Clinton’s failed 2016 presidential campaign, as a consultant, according to a person familiar with the hire. CONT. Annie Karni, Politico Read more »
Should democracy depend on ‘we, the people’? Here’s what the framers wanted.
… Over the next five episodes we’ll look at the role of public opinion and the media, see how elections work, and examine ways other than voting by which people can participate in politics. Public opinion is a fundamental place to start. After all, as William McKinley put it, “Here […] Read more »
In 47 states, a smaller part of the population now approves of Trump than voted for him
… Using interviews conducted over Trump’s first six months in office — during which his approval slipped slightly nationally — Gallup determined the average approval in each of the 50 states. It’s worth noting that in 47 of the states, Trump’s approval rating is now below the percentage of the […] Read more »