There’s much to be said for the notion that polls have become useful tools of the left to drive public opinion, but does that still apply to a Fox News poll?
When looking at results, one must consider the size of the field being sampled and the make up that group, as well as how questions were crafted.
And with the media whipped into a lather over the prospects of impeaching President Trump, a new Fox News poll showing that 51 percent of registered voters back Trump being impeached is being cited as further proof that the American people have turned against the president.
But Fox News’ Greg Gutfeld, co-host of “The Five,” says not so fast.
The 2020 election was being discussed on Thursday’s show and co-host Juan Williams mentioned the Fox News poll. When co-host Dana Perino, who was acting as moderator, turned to Gutfeld to comment on the back and forth between Trump and 2020 Democratic candidate Joe Biden, he went back to the poll.
“I’ve been seeing this poll everywhere and I know it’s a Fox News poll but we got to point out that it’s weighted toward Democrats,” Gutfeld said. “From what I’ve seen, it’s 48 percent Democrats, 40 percent Republicans, 12 percent other. So it’s weighted for that.”
“Also, it is being taken at the fever pitch of media coverage about a single topic, so what do you expect,” he added — that being the current impeachment frenzy in the media.
In effect, Gutfeld said that time is sure to have an impact on the results.
“You’ve got all the Democrats, plus or minus 3 percent, saying they want him out,” he noted. “That’s not a big finding. That’s not a surprise. In a month or so, when all this stuff fades, let’s see where it is now.”
“We have to remind ourselves how many Democrats and how many Republicans are in this poll and these polls have been known to be wrong,” Gutfeld said. “Sorry for bringing it up. But if you’re going to put it on the table at The Five we get to respond.”
Williams responded to say more people self-identify as Democrats than Republicans, which is why the poll Fox News poll was weighted that way.
Co-host Katie Pavlich chimed in to say these people don’t live in the critical states needed to win the election, saying they’re mostly in California and New York, which are going to vote Democrat regardless.
President Trump responded online to say he has never fared well in Fox News polls, adding that whoever the pollster is, “they suck.”
He also stated that Fox News “doesn’t deliver for US anymore.”
…Court Justice & I turned him down (he’s been terrible ever since), Shep Smith, @donnabrazile (who gave Crooked Hillary the debate questions & got fired from @CNN), & others, @FoxNews doesn’t deliver for US anymore. It is so different than it used to be. Oh well, I’m President!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 10, 2019
In an appearance, Wednesday night on “The Ingraham Angle,” Fox News contributor Dan Bongino echoed Gutfeld’s sentiment about time being a factor when it comes to the Fox News poll.
The former Secret Service agent said, “Given the amount of misinformation in the media, the amount of lies about Donald Trump, I mean total fabrications about a quid pro quo that never happened, it’s actually stunning those numbers aren’t higher.”
“So I wouldn’t panic about any of those numbers — they’ll ebb,” he assured host Laura Ingraham.
As Bongino noted, President Trump’s approval numbers are holding steady, and we don’t need reminding that in the final days of the 2016 election, polling said that Hillary Clinton had a better than 90 percent chance of winning.
Meaning that if Democrats want to impeach this president, they will need to produce evidence, not a suspect poll from Fox News.
Meanwhile, Ronna McDaniel, head of the Republican National Committee, cited internal polling to declare that the Fox News poll is “wrong,” reminding social media that the network polling had Clinton winning in 2016 by 4 points.
“The Fox News poll is wrong, just like their final poll in 2016 (had Hillary winning by 4) was wrong. A staggering 48% of those polled on this bogus impeachment charade were Democrats. Our internal polling shows voters, particularly Independents, oppose this sham!”
The Fox News poll is wrong, just like their final poll in 2016 (had Hillary winning by 4) was wrong.
A staggering 48% of those polled on this bogus impeachment charade were Democrats.
Our internal polling shows voters, particularly Independents, oppose this sham!
— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) October 10, 2019
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The longest-tenured writer at BizPac Review, Tom grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills.
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