Iowa District Court Judge Scott J. Beattie issued a ruling on Wednesday dismissing a lawsuit brought by Donald Trump against pollster J. Ann Selzer and the newspaper The Des Moines Register. The legal action centered on a high-profile poll released in the final days of the 2024 general election cycle, which indicated that then-Vice President Kamala Harris held a lead over Trump in Iowa.

Trump’s legal team had argued that the polling data was inaccurate and misleading, effectively accusing the defendants of defamation. The lawsuit sought to hold the pollster and the publication accountable for the impact the numbers had on public perception and the electoral process. However, Judge Beattie’s ruling effectively ends the litigation, siding with the defendants' position that the publication of the poll did not meet the legal threshold for defamation.

While the court’s decision is definitive regarding the dismissal, the ruling highlights the ongoing tension between political figures and media organizations regarding the influence of polling data. The Des Moines Register and Selzer have maintained that their polling methodology was sound and that the publication of the results was protected speech. Trump’s representatives have not yet indicated whether they intend to appeal the decision, though the dismissal marks a significant setback for the former president's efforts to challenge the integrity of the specific polling data in court.