‘The free-speech president’: Trump ironically sues Des Moines Register despite their prediction being wrong
Donald Trump is nothing if not a sore winner.
The president-elect is currently suing Iowa pollster Ann Selzer, the newspaper she works for, and the paper’s parent company for alleged voter fraud. Despite winning the state in the 2024 election, Trump’s case alleges that Selzer and her paper committed fraud by violating the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act, which bans deception in advertising. He argues that a poll published in the paper that showed Kamala Harris leading Trump in the race was put there in order to help Democrats win the state over. Even if this were true, it obviously didn’t work.
According to CCN, Trump’s suit is a “nontraditional” reading of the law that is unlikely to hold up in court. However, media experts warn that Trump’s act of retaliation against a regional newspaper sets a somber precedent, one where the soon-to-be most powerful person in the nation can come after average citizens under the guise of self-defense against political persecution.
Atlantic writer James Surowiecki was quick to point out the irony that the “free-speech president” is suing someone for being wrong. But Trump isn’t suing someone for being wrong, he’s suing someone for being disloyal.
One of the most disturbing aspects of Trump’s lawsuit, according to this reposted interview, is Trump’s previous support of Ann Selzer. The president-elect said that he considered Selzer to be a “very, very good pollster” who got him “right all the time,” but said that after Selzer reported that he would lose by 3 or 4 points, his opinion changed. It shows the depth of Trump’s vindictive nature, that he is willing to attempt to legally obliterate a former ally for what he no doubt believes to be a lapse in loyalty. “I’m not doing this not because I want to… but because I feel I have an obligation to” said Trump.
It is loyalty that Trump values most of all. Trump made his desire for unwavering loyalty in his supporters apparent when he reportedly said that he needed “the kind of generals that Hitler had” working under him. It is loyalty that Trump rewards, and his chief consideration when making his Cabinet picks – many whom offer loyalty alone as their only qualification for the job. Trump has packed his Cabinet with disgraced Fox News hosts and political donors, some of whom have absolutely no experience relevant to the department that they are slated to lead. It’s loyalty, according to MSNBC host Ayman Mohyeldin, that will allow his administration to function, as the “political losers” that Trump is adding to his cabinet will allow the president-elect to pursue his most extreme agendas as a thanks for saving their stagnating political careers. Loyalty is the meat on which Donald Trump feeds, and when that loyalty is challenged, Trump lashes out with extreme prejudice.
While Trump may attest to the contrary, he has never been a supporter of free speech. He recently came out with an idea to send American flag-burners to jail, flying in the face of Supreme Court precedent on the matter. Trump has targeted the free press, forcing ABC News into a $15 million settlement in a defamation lawsuit. Trump has called for First Amendment restrictions, saying he’s “gotta” do it. Trump has attempted to eradicate anything and everything that isn’t on board with his cause, and sadly, the staff of Des Moines Register will be forced to find that out the hard way.
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