US President Donald Trump has renewed his attacks on polling organizations and major news outlets after the release of a New York Times/Siena College survey showing weak approval ratings a year into his term. In a lengthy post on Truth Social on January 22, 2026, the current US President accused the newspaper of publishing “fake and fraudulent” polls and said he has filed a lawsuit and plans to expand it targeting the Times over results he disputes.
The move quickly drew criticism from journalists and political commentators, who framed it as an unprecedented escalation against the press. Among the most forceful responses came from former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan, who argued that suing a newspaper over unfavorable polling crossed a dangerous line. Reacting on social media, Hasan described the situation as “Insanity” and warned it had entered “25th Amendment territory.”
More about US President Donald Trump’s claims and the New York Times/Siena poll
Trump’s comments followed the publication of a New York Times/Siena poll on January 22, 2026, which found his job approval at 40%, with 56% of respondents disapproving. The survey also reported that 49% of those questioned believed the country was worse off under his leadership, compared with 32% who said it was better, as reported by Deadline on the same day.
In response, the US President posted on Truth Social that “something has to be done about Fake Polls,” claiming that media outlets were deliberately publishing skewed results to undermine his presidency. He argued that his administration had delivered “the Greatest Economy in the History of our Country” and “the Strongest Border in History.” He accused the Times of knowingly printing false numbers because of what he called “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
Trump said he would add the Times/Siena poll to an existing defamation lawsuit against the newspaper, asserting that it should be “held fully responsible” for what he labeled “Radical Left lies.”
According to Deadline, the US President previously sued the New York Times over reporting tied to the book Lucky Loser, a case that was initially dismissed by a judge before being refiled. The Times has argued that Trump’s claims fail to meet basic standards for defamation and has defended the rigor of its polling methodology. A spokesperson for the newspaper said favorable or unfavorable results for the president “have no bearing on our methodology.”
Mehdi Hasan responded sharply to Trump’s threat of legal action, framing it as a troubling break from democratic norms. In a post on X (formerly) dated January 22, 2026, Hasan wrote that while Trump’s behavior is often normalized, it bears repeating that
“The president is SUING a newspaper over a poll result he doesn’t like and claims not to believe.”
Hasan emphasized that the lawsuit was not over alleged false reporting of events, but over public opinion data itself.
In their January 22, 2026 Deadline noted that Trump, currently serving his second term as President of the United States, has previously pursued pollsters legally, including a lawsuit against Ann Selzer and the Des Moines Register over a 2024 Iowa poll that underestimated his eventual performance. That case was dismissed in federal court and refiled at the state level before an anti-SLAPP statute took effect.
At the time of press, there are no further updates from the US President or the White House regarding media lawsuits.
Edited by Devangee
