On Thursday, CNN Information Central lambasted President Donald Trump and his supporters for the crime of questioning pre-election polls and declaring that they’ve been fallacious previously. Predictably, they despatched their MAGA-shaming correspondent Donie O’Sullivan out to reveal polling skeptics as conspiracy theorists whereas providing little examination of why some voters mistrust the polling business within the first place. As a substitute, they handled conservative skepticism as proof of a broader effort to undermine confidence within the midterm elections.
Host Boris Sanchez launched the report by claiming Trump’s criticism was fueling conspiracy theories amongst his supporters, wherein, “These claims are fueling conspiracy theories amongst his MAGA followers.”
O’Sullivan traveled to Kansas to interview attendees at a Trump rally in regards to the state’s Senate race. One girl provided a reasonably simple concern about polling methodology, saying: “You can also make polls say something you need. It will depend on who you’re polling.”
CNN simply ran a report from Donie O’Sullivan lecturing and shaming conservatives and MAGA for daring to argue that election polls may not at all times be solely correct https://t.co/JEScdEPpkT
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) October 29, 2026
However as an alternative of exploring that concern, CNN used the girl’s skepticism to strengthen its narrative that conservatives have been falling for conspiracy theories. So what occurs if Kansas is not a nail-biter?
O’Sullivan’s report repeatedly lectured viewers that polls are merely snapshots of voter preferences, not predictions of election outcomes. But that rationalization hardly settles questions on pattern sizes, voter demographics, polling strategies, or the accuracy of particular person surveys. O’Sullivan gave little consideration to the likelihood that Republican voters merely mistrust the numbers being offered to them by liberal cable networks:
The midterms are nearly at all times difficult for the social gathering in energy, however the President and his allies try to persuade their supporters that Republicans’ positions within the polls is a part of a grand conspiracy.
(….)
Opinion polls usually are not meant to be predictive, however moderately a snapshot of the place races stand at a given second. This 12 months, there are a number of Senate battlegrounds the place polls present no clear chief within the closing stretch of the midterms.
CNN went on to spotlight a tiny snippet of Speaker Mike Johnson’s suggestion of coordination between Democrats and the mainstream media — think about that — earlier than turning to conservative commentator Benny Johnson. “These polls are designed to trick you and say that there’s no cause to vote in any respect. All is misplaced,” mentioned Johnson.
The community then featured former 60 Minutes correspondent Lara Logan’s claims that polling suggesting Texas might flip blue was a part of an data operation supposed to organize voters to just accept alleged election fraud.
CNN made no effort to tell apart bizarre skepticism from broader claims. As a substitute, O’Sullivan misled viewers by sweeping them collectively beneath the banner of conspiracy theories moderately than recognizing the distinct distinction between polling accuracy and election fraud.
Reasonably than scrutinize polling practices or interact with voters’ issues, CNN selected to disgrace the skeptics. Apparently, questioning the media’s numbers is barely acceptable when the questions come from the media itself.
The transcript is beneath. Click on “broaden” to learn.
CNN Information Central
October 29, 2026
3:38:20 p.m. Jap[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Final Spring to Midterms; Trump, MAGA Media Baselessly Claim Polls Are “Designed to Trick You”]
BORIS SANCHEZ: Ask any election skilled, they usually’ll let you know pre-election polls are merely a snapshot of which manner voters look like leaning at any level within the race. Proper now, in case you ask President Trump, he’ll let you know they’re faux or rigged.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP [on 10/19/26]: The polls are faux. [SCREEN WIPE] Lots of the polls are rigged. [SCREEN WIPE] [on 09/28/26] The polls are faux. [SCREEN WIPE] [on 10/20/26] Pretend information, faux polls are all faux. [on 10/15/26] [SCREEN WIPE] They’re rigged polls. [SCREEN WIPE] [on Newsmax’s Finnerty, 10/14/26] Lots of crooked polls.
SANCHEZ: The President even arguing that poor Republican numbers are a part of a concerted effort by Democrats to skew the outcomes and to trick voters. These claims are fueling conspiracy theories amongst his MAGA followers. CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan has extra.
DONIE O’SULLIVAN: The polling displaying that the Senate race fairly shut right here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE TRUMP RALLY ATTENDEE #1: Very shut. However who’s working the polls? You can also make polls say something you need. It will depend on who you’re polling.
O’SULLIVAN: President Trump has been on a mad sprint throughout the nation campaigning even in historically Republican strongholds, like right here in Kansas.
TRUMP [ON 10/10/26]: The faux information media is attempting to demoralize Republican voters with unhealthy journalism and rigged polls.
O’SULLIVAN: Kansas hasn’t elected a Democratic U.S. Senator in nearly a century.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE TRUMP RALLY ATTENDEE #1: However they are saying he didn’t win. However we knew he did.
O’SULLIVAN: However the President has rallied right here and in different deep pink states like Texas, as polls present razor-thin races for Republican-held states.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE TRUMP RALLY ATTENDEE #2: I believe plenty of polls are type of skewed in a single course.
O’SULLIVAN: The midterms are nearly at all times difficult for the social gathering in energy, however the President and his allies try to persuade their supporters that Republicans’ positions within the polls is a part of a grand conspiracy.
SPEAKER: MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA) [on ABC’s This Week, 10/18/26]: I consider there’s a concerted effort between the Democrats and the mainstream media.
O’SULLIVAN: Opinion polls usually are not meant to be predictive, however moderately a snapshot of the place races stand at a given second. This 12 months, there are a number of Senate battlegrounds the place polls present no clear chief within the closing stretch of the midterms. However regardless of this –
TRUMP [on 10/19/26]: I believe it’s faux polls.
O’SULLIVAN: – Trump and MAGA media repeat the baseless claims advert nauseam.
BENNY JOHNSON [on The Benny Show, 10/14/26]: These polls are designed to trick you and say that there’s no cause to vote in any respect. All is misplaced.
O’SULLIVAN: And its filtering via to the MAGA base. [TO TRUMP RALLY ATTENDEES] It’s going to be a reasonably shut Senate race right here, based mostly off the polls race, proper?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE TRUMP RALLY ATTENDEE #2: Proper.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE TRUMP RALLY ATTENDEE #3: Eh, I don’t assume so. I don’t consider the experiences.
O’SULLIVAN [TO UNIDENTIFIED MALE TRUMP RALLY ATTENDEE #3]: So, you assume it’s potential the Republicans might perhaps preserve the Home and the Senate?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE TRUMP RALLY ATTENDEE #3: I believe they’re going to.
O’SULLIVAN: Do you assume so?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE TRUMP RALLY ATTENDEE #3: I believe so. I believe so as a result of, so far as the farther away from election day, the polls are wider. And now because it comes nearer, they have a tendency to tighten up, and now plenty of them are inside the margin of error that have been — they have been 10-to-12 level leads, so what they’re doing is that they’re admitting the truth that they tried skewing it, they usually don’t wish to seem like idiots.
O’SULLIVAN: A part of the aim of the President’s and MAGA media’s assaults on polling is to prime their base to query Democratic Social gathering victories subsequent week.
LARA LOGAN [on Real America’s Voice’s Bannon War Room, 10/14/26]: And all you idiots selling that Texas goes blue. Texas goes blue.
O’SULLIVAN: The conspiracy idea spelled out most succinctly by former 60 Minutes correspondent-turned-election denier Lara Logan.
LOGAN [on Real America’s Voice’s Bannon War Room, 10/14/26]: No, it isn’t going blue. That may be a shaping operation in data warfare that’s designed to make you consider the cheat, in order that when the steal occurs, you don’t have a look at it and say, these persons are insane. You say, oh, nicely, you recognize, they mentioned Texas was going blue. I assume they have been proper. They aren’t proper.
O’SULLIVAN: However on the similar time, because the President assaults the polls and the media, he proudly touts any polls that mirror positively on him.
TRUMP [on 10/10/26]: And simply earlier than we go away, I assumed we’d put up there’s a few charts from of all teams from CNN.
O’SULLIVAN: However even good ballot numbers are an indication of conspiracy to the President.
TRUMP [on Newsmax’s Finnerty, 10/16/26]: They usually do them each methods. In some circumstances, they’ve me main by a lot that individuals aren’t going to vote. And in some circumstances, they’ve me dropping.
SANCHEZ: Donie O’Sullivan, thanks a lot for that.
