Judge dismisses Trump's 2024 lawsuit against Iowa newspaper over poll results
An Iowa judge sided with pollster J. Ann Selzer and The Des Moines Register, saying that allowing the lawsuit and its "faulty" claims to proceed could "discourage others from reporting on and debating public affairs."
Updated on: September 23, 2026 / 7:08 PM EDT / AP
A judge on Wednesday dismissed President Trump's lawsuit accusing The Des Moines Register and its former pollster of misrepresenting the state of the 2024 presidential race , rejecting the president's claim that the newspaper's poll coverage violated Iowa's consumer fraud law.
The ruling Wednesday came hours after a judge heard arguments but did not rule from the bench in a case on Mr. Trump's ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico from White House grounds. Mr. Trump banned the three outlets beginning Friday, assailing what he called "fake news."
Mr. Trump filed the lawsuit against Selzer, The Des Moines Register and the newspaper's parent company in December 2024, accusing them of fraudulently publishing inaccurate poll results to damage him and help Democrats, saying coverage of polls is not protected speech.
Mr. Trump and his team have filed several lawsuits against media organizations accusing them of bias, calling into question the boundaries of free speech protections, particularly for press. Some of those lawsuits have ended in settlements.