JD Vance Calls Polls ‘Fake’ When Fox News Anchor Grills Him on Flagging Numbers and Harris ‘Momentum’

Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), the running mate to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, called polls “fake” when questioned about the surge in support for Vice President Kamala Harris in a Fox News interview on Sunday.

Shannon Bream, moderator of Fox News Sunday, questioned Vance on a rough couple of weeks for his campaign and the momentum being enjoyed by the Harris-Walz ticket. She cited a Washington Post opinion piece from Karen Tumulty that pinned the Trump campaign’s woes not on its leadership, but on Trump himself.

“With so many seeking his confidence, there’s one thing that no one will tell him: What’s most in need of fixing is the candidate himself,” Tumulty wrote.

Bream noted Fox News polling found the economy is a top issue for Americans, and Trump has the edge over Harris in that respect. But she pointed to fresh New York Times/Siena polling with less good news for Trump and Vance: “Ms. Harris is now leading Mr. Trump among likely voters in Arizona, 50 percent to 45 percent, and has even edged ahead of Mr. Trump in North Carolina — a state Mr. Trump won four years ago — while narrowing his lead significantly in Georgia and Nevada.”

“What is the campaign doing with that data?” Bream asked. “These are critical states.”

“Are there any pivots?” she added. “You talk about your message but is it not landing?”

Vance made several arguments against the polling, including his claim surveys “tend to radically overstate Democrats.” He also argued his campaign’s internal data shows the “sugar high” she’s received in the weeks since she ascended to the top of the Democratic ticket is “leveling off.”

Bream contested Vance’s claim about Harris losing steam, pointing out “new numbers” from the Washington Post and ABC News found Harris with a four-point lead over Trump nationally.

“If you think the momentum is not swinging, or your internal polls are suggesting differently, every other poll that’s been released has shown great momentum in her direction,” Bream said.

Vance dismissed the Washington Post/ABC News poll as “wildly inaccurate” in 2020 and claimed other polls show the vice president “stagnating.”

Then, he argued polls are deliberately rigged in order to suppress turnout for Trump, echoing a dubious claim the former president himself has made for years.

“Consistently what you’ve seen in 2016 and 2020, is that the media uses fake polls to drive down Republican turnout and to create dissension and conflict within Republican voters,” he said.

“The Trump campaign is in a very, very good spot,” Vance added.

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