Trump running mate Sen. J.D. Vance rejects claims by some in the media and by Democrat-aligned leaders and pundits that Vice President Kamala Harris’ polling “surge” is a real thing during an interview with Fox News anchor Shannon Bream on Monday, as the Democratic National Convention began. She said: “Washington Post-ABC, they’re giving the vice president nationally a four-to-five-point lead. I mean, 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?”
Vance brushed them off and responded: “You know, Shannon, I think there are a lot of polls that actually 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 see the numbers that we’re seeing and you actually talk to the American people, I feel extremely confident that we’re going to be in the right place come November.”
“We can’t worry about polls,” he continued. “We have to run through the finish line and encourage everybody to get out there and vote. But our message is going to be very simple. If you want to get back to the peace and prosperity, the rising take home pay, Donald Trump delivered it once and he can do it again. If you want to double down on the failed policies that have delivered higher food prices and higher housing prices, well, Kamala Harris has been vice president for three and a half years, and I guarantee she’s going to make the problem worse if the American people give for a promotion.”
Vance then revealed a truth about today’s polling: “The thing we have to remember — one final point — let me just say one final point on this, Shannon, because I think it’s important. Consistently, what you’ve seen in 2016 and 2020 is that the media uses fake polls to drive down Republican turnout and to create dissension and conflict with Republican voters. I’m telling you, every single person who’s watching this, the Trump campaign is in a very, very good spot. We’re going to win this race. We just have to run through the finish line.”
WATCH:
@JDVance gives us a good reminder here about garbage polling, what it’s really designed to do, and why, suddenly, the most unpopular VP in history is allegedly ‘running away’ with the 2024 election. pic.twitter.com/B8ayicT2O1
— USA Features Media (@UsaFeatures) August 20, 2024
Noted Democratic strategist and former adviser to then-President Bill Clinton scolded members of his party during an interview this week as the Democratic National Committee launched in Chicago on Monday. Carville cautioned Democrats against becoming too confident about Vice President Kamala Harris’s prospects, noting that former President Donald Trump has historically exceeded his polling averages.
Trump currently holds a 0.1% lead over Harris in the seven key battleground states, while Harris has a 1.5% national lead over Trump, according to RealClearPolitics averages. On “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” Carville highlighted potential challenges for Harris, particularly pointing out Trump’s tendency to outperform his poll numbers.
“Democrats are feeling better. It’s undeniable … I see the polls and I remind people of a couple of things, Jake. First of all, most quants, and they’re better at this than I am, say that the vice president would have to win almost by three points in the popular vote to win the Electoral College,” Carville told host Jake Tapper. “And I also would point out that when President Trump runs, he overperforms his polling averages. He did it in 2016. The national polls were actually pretty spot-on, but they didn’t pull weight in the states.”
“And then they pulled weight in the states in 2020, and you would have thought he was going to win these states by eight points. He didn’t. President Biden did no such thing … People need to have some reality infused in their optimism,” he continued. “I’m glad that people are feeling better. I’m glad that people are excited. But anybody that looks at this with any sense of history, any sense of objectivity, sees that there’s plenty possible pitfalls that we’re faced with. And we need to acknowledge that and stop being giddy all the time.”
Disclaimer: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.