There’s a reason why 538 doesn’t use Rasmussen in their polling aggregates anymore, and this is just more evidence why: they can’t be trusted. Meanwhile, conservative sites like Real Clear Politics rely heavily on Rasmussen and other Trump campaign shills to keep their polling averages inflated for Trump.
Not all polls are created equal, and many aren’t even real these days. They’re PR.
Source: New Republic
A major polling organization is reportedly giving Donald Trump’s campaign previews of its results before the public sees them.
On Thursday, American Muckrakers posted about emails it received detailing how the conservative-leaning Rasmussen Reports, which claims to be nonpartisan, shared polling results with Trump advisers and campaign officials like Dan Scavino, Susie Wiles, and John McLaughlin. The advisers, Rasmussen, and the nonprofit organizations that pay it for polling are violating tax and election laws, according to American Muckrakers.
One of the emails details close collaboration between the Trump campaign, Rasmussen, and the Heartland Institute, which calls itself a national free-market public policy think tank. However, it’s also a 501(c)3 nonprofit and is not allowed to engage in political activity benefiting a political candidate.