Anderson Cooper Says He Isn’t Convinced Harris Is Leading In Polls
CNN anchor Anderson Cooper tempered the excitement surrounding Vice President Kamala Harris’ recent polling boost, expressing skepticism about the accuracy of polls.
Cooper appeared on “The Late Show” with Stephen Colbert, where the host addressed the buzz about Harris' polling increase after the debate. Colbert was cautious, recalling previous polling errors: “We were supposed to trust them in 2016, and they were wrong. In 2020, they were pretty wrong,” he said.
Cooper agreed, noting, “Trump has traditionally underperformed in these polls,” before delving into his view of polling. Colbert pressed further: “How do you approach polls? There’s polling, and there’s trends. How do you approach what’s going on in the polling? Do you care?”
Cooper admitted he finds them interesting but is ultimately doubtful. “I’ve reported them. I think they’re interesting to talk about… but deep down inside, I don’t think I buy them,” he confessed. Colbert humorously encouraged Cooper to lead with that skepticism in his reports, suggesting he start with, “‘We’ve got some polls, and, frankly, who the f**k knows.’”
The conversation wrapped up with Cooper likening accurate polling to baby pigeons: “They exist. I haven’t seen them [but] they exist.”
Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump has received encouraging polling news. Since Harris became the Democratic nominee, her popularity surged, a movement dubbed “Kamalamentum” by her supporters. However, this momentum mirrors the so-called “Joementum” that was said to boost President Joe Biden, who eventually saw his polling numbers plummet.
Now, Harris’ polling gains seem to have plateaued, and polls are showing a shift back toward Trump. A new poll by The New York Times and Sienna College shows a dead heat between Harris and Trump, with both tied at 47 points nationally. The RealClearPolitics average gives Harris a narrow 1.9% lead, unchanged from the beginning of the month.
In Pennsylvania, a key battleground state, Harris leads Trump by four percentage points, 50 to 46. However, this poll seems to be an outlier, as the RealClearPolitics average has her ahead by only one point, 48 to 47.
Trump also received promising results from a Hill/Emerson College poll, which shows him leading Harris 50% to 47% in Georgia and 49% to 48% in Arizona and Wisconsin, with the two candidates tied in Nevada at 48%. Harris holds a slight edge in North Carolina (49% to 48%) and Michigan (49% to 47%).
Even if Harris were to win Nevada in this scenario, Trump would still have enough electoral votes to secure the presidency. According to the RealClearPolitics map, Harris would win Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Nevada, while Trump would take North Carolina, Georgia, and Arizona, leading to a 276 to 262 electoral vote victory for Harris, which would hand her the presidency.