The cease and desist letter, issued by the campaign’s Senior Legal Adviser Jenna Ellis and Chief Operating Officer Michael Glassner, formally requested that CNN retract its “skewed [June 8] poll by publishing a full, fair and conspicuous retraction, apology and clarification to correct its misleading conclusions.”
“The CNN poll out today is another skewed anti-Trump poll of only 25% Republican. It’s a poll of 1,259 adults - not even registered voters, let alone likely voters. Also, it was done between June 2nd and 5th, before the great economic news from last Friday,” the letter quoted the “highly respected” McLaughlin & Associates as saying.
Prior to the issuance of the letter, Trump took to Twitter to announce that an independent investigation had been conducted by McLaughlin & Associates regarding polls from major news networks.
According to the firm’s release to Trump, the “skewed media polls” are part of an “intentional strategy to suppress” those who may want to vote for him.
...Crooked Hillary Clinton in 2016. They are called SUPPRESSION POLLS, and are put out to dampen enthusiasm. Despite 3 ½ years of phony Witch Hunts, we are winning, and will close it out on November 3rd! pic.twitter.com/4IhuLUZjsv
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 8, 2020
CNN has since responded to the letter and invoked its Constitutional right to free speech. It also highlighted that the polling data was readily available for anyone, particularly voters, to access. The outlet’s response also took shots at the “highly respected” McLaughlin & Associates.
Official response from CNN General Counsel to @TeamTrump‘s letter demanding CNN apologize for a poll that shows @JoeBiden leading. pic.twitter.com/pQaGPxsA0y
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) June 10, 2020
Though Trump and his campaign staff assert that a more recent poll would likely yield more positive results for the US president, his responses to the US’ social unrest and COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic have resulted in prominent members of his own party speaking out against him.
Former US Secretary of Defense James Mattis on June 3 slammed the US president’s “bizarre photo op” in front of the historic St. John's Episcopal Church as "an abuse of executive authority."
"Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people — does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us," he said in a statement published by The Atlantic, likening Trump’s practice to “the Nazi slogan for destroying us,” which he noted was “Divide and Conquer.”
Colin Powell - who has served as secretary of state, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and national security adviser - has also been vocal about his opposition to Trump, telling CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday that Trump is “insulting [the US] throughout the world.” He has also revealed that he intends to vote for Democratic nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden in November.
While there appears to be much concern about the upcoming presidential election, recent voter suppression continues to receive limited attention from a non-partisan standpoint. Georgia’s Tuesday election was plagued by reports of machine errors, miscommunication and questionable decisions from leadership.
Georgians deserve better. I voted today bc of absentee ballot defects. From Jasper to Fulton to Coffee & Chatham, long lines, inoperable machines & under-resourced communities are being hurt. @GaSecofState owns this disaster. He must stop finger-pointing and fix it. #gapol
— Stacey Abrams (@staceyabrams) June 9, 2020
Many presumably frustrated voters ended up leaving their polling locations without casting a vote after being forced to stand in long lines amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
