J.D. Vance Blames ‘Fake Polls’ for Harris’ Lead

You’ve heard Donald Trump cry “fake news” too many times to count, and now his running mate is claiming — without evidence — that the media is using “fake polls” to show Vice President Kamala Harris is in the lead in the presidential race.

In an interview on Fox News Sunday, Sen. J.D. Vance alleged that “The media uses fake polls to drive down Republican turnout and to create dissension and conflict with Republican voters.”

“Another poll we got, out this morning, Washington Post-ABC, they’re giving the vice president nationally a four to five point lead,” Fox host Shannon Bream said to Vance. “Those are new numbers, so if you think the momentum is not swinging, or your internal polls are suggesting differently, every other poll that’s been released has shown great momentum in her direction.”

The poll, released Sunday, shows that among registered voters, Harris holds 49 percent support while Trump has 45 percent. That lead narrows to three points (47-44) with Robert F. Kennedy in the running. Harris’ lead is points ahead of where Biden was in the polls shortly before he dropped out of the race.

“I think there are a lot of polls,” Vance responded, “that show her stagnating and leveling off. Of course, ABC-Washington Post was a wildly inaccurate pollster in the summer of 2020. And look, if you’re seeing the numbers that we’re seeing, and you actually talk to the American people, I feel extremely confident that we’re gonna be in the right place come November.”

Vance also tried to claim that, “If you talk to insiders in the Kamala Harris campaign, they’re very worried about where they are.”

Another poll of likely voters, conducted by The New York Times and Siena College that was released Saturday, shows Harris leading in two key swing states — Arizona and North Carolina — and gaining ground in Nevada and Georgia. Even conservative pollster Rasmussen, one of Trump’s favored pollsters, shows Harris with a one point lead in a head-to-head matchup in Michigan, another important battleground state. That poll also showed that third party candidates are pulling support from Trump in the state. Harris’ lead grows to three points with those candidates included in the poll.

Of course, it is still early in the race — after all, Hillary Clinton led in the polls for much of the 2016 race — and many of Harris’ leads are within the margin of error. But with the Democratic National Convention this week, Harris’ lead is likely to expand. So expect more cries of “fake polls” from the Trump campaign.

But no matter what they say, these polls must have the Trump camp worried. Perhaps that is why Vance is throwing out nonsensical attacks on Harris, like the one he made this morning comparing her to deceased billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein (who was a close friend of Trump’s). “Giving Kamala Harris control over inflation policy, it’s like giving Jeffrey Epstein control over human trafficking policy,” Vance said.

Meanwhile, Trump is traveling to campaign events in a private jet once owned by Epstein.

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