We’re Watching You

And Trump's representatives offered Rich Baris' Big Data Polling and Mark Mitchell's Rasmussen, along with several other polling firms, seven figures for favorable polling and commentary. Baris and Mitchell have both shared their testimony publicly, separately and together, on several news analysis shows. Refusal of the arrangement brought a threat of DoJ prosecution on unspecified charges. Baris controls Big Data Polling and forcefully declined the offer. Rasmussen accepted the deal and Mitchell separated from Rasmussen and re-emerged as the Honest Pollster.

Neither has been prosecuted yet by Trump's sterling DoJ, but the government is as slothful as it is crooked. I'm sure they'll get there soon. Their lawyer represented Trump in many of his lawfare defenses. The irony is palpable.

I take no pleasure in noticing that the president seems to have this backwards. He doesn't give us a performance review every two years.

It doesn't work that way.

Americans give him a performance review every two years.

Thanks for posting this @EJHill; makes my comments in other threads about the Democrats doing this look foolish. Don’t really have the desire to comment further…what a child he is. Now with Steven Miller as Chief of Staff…what could go wrong?? Tantrums all around!! Whohooo!!!

Gary McVey (View Comment):

I take no pleasure in noticing that the president seems to have this backwards. He doesn't give us a performance review every two years.

It doesn't work that way.

Americans give him a performance review every two years.

It looks like this was to conservative groups, not to "us", so it is probably intended to be something like a coach trying to get "the team" to improve after a big loss. Coaches tend to keep an eye on the team.

It is true that pressure on even not "team" media outlets is far from new.

Reason: "Trump isn't the first president to crack down on disfavored speech. During the COVID-19 pandemic, former President Joe Biden spent much of his time pressuring social media companies to remove content they deemed "misinformation." Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that Biden administration officials "repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain COVID-19 content, including humor and satire.""

It doesn't sound like a good strategy to me, largely because they ought to know that it would be spun as going after all media vs just the "conservative" media as we see. However I worked to pretty hard for DeSantis to win the Iowa Caucuses in 2024 because I was totally certain Trump didn't have a prayer!

My political advice is useless. My wife and I completed picking up the last of our Zach Lahn, Ashely Hinson, etc. yard sand big barn signs this AM.

While we were driving home after completion I was in a gallows humor mood and suggested that if the Democrats win it all in 2028 they will get DC statehood, abolish the Electoral College, go to 100% mandatory mail in voting, ranked choice voting, etc. and we will be spared doing all this work!

She was not amused.

Sisyphus (View Comment):

And Trump's representatives offered Rich Baris' Big Data Polling and Mark Mitchell's Rasmussen, along with several other polling firms, seven figures for favorable polling and commentary. Baris and Mitchell have both shared their testimony publicly, separately and together, on several news analysis shows. Refusal of the arrangement brought a threat of DoJ prosecution on unspecified charges. Baris controls Big Data Polling and forcefully declined the offer. Rasmussen accepted the deal and Mitchell separated from Rasmussen and re-emerged as the Honest Pollster.

Neither has been prosecuted yet by Trump's sterling DoJ, but the government is as slothful as it is crooked. I'm sure they'll get there soon. Their lawyer represented Trump in many of his lawfare defenses. The irony is palpable.

Evaluation (29 seconds; bolding in the original):

"The claim mixes real public tensions and statements by the pollsters with specific, unsubstantiated details (seven-figure offers from Trump’s representatives and DoJ prosecution threats) that lack supporting evidence.⁠

What is supported by public statements and reporting

Mark Mitchell left Rasmussen Reports to launch The Honest Poll (as the Honest Pollster). He has described biases, outside influences, and business pressures at Rasmussen, including a potential opportunity for the firm to raise money from a Trump-aligned PAC where his criticism of Trump (particularly on the Iran conflict) was viewed as unhelpful. He has referenced a client engagement that he says was used to “betray the American people,” with details supposedly forthcoming in a Wall Street Journal piece.⁠

Rich Baris (Big Data Poll) has publicly stated that he and Mitchell “refused the check.” In an October 2026 post, he criticized “failed radio hosts now paid by MAGA Inc. to lie about Mark and I—because we refused the check,” contrasting them with those who took money to stay solvent. Mitchell has engaged with related discussions.⁠

Both have been publicly critical of aspects of the Trump administration and GOP direction in 2025–2026 (especially foreign policy focus/Iran involvement, affordability, and base erosion), while previously associated with more favorable or accurate readings of Trump support in earlier cycles. They have appeared on various news and analysis shows discussing polling methodology, biases, and midterm outlooks.

Others (e.g., Robert Barnes) have alleged that certain pollsters, including Rasmussen, took money from GOP-aligned sources to produce more favorable numbers or phrasing. Accusations of pollster funding pressures and independence issues are not unique to this episode.

What is not supported

There is no public evidence or corroboration of Trump’s representatives offering seven-figure sums specifically for favorable polling and commentary to Baris’s Big Data Polling, Mitchell’s Rasmussen work, and other firms.

There is no public evidence of a threat of DoJ prosecution (on unspecified charges or otherwise) for refusing such an arrangement.

The framing that Rasmussen cleanly “accepted the deal” while Mitchell separated over it, and that Baris “forcefully declined” a concrete seven-figure offer, overstates and specifies details beyond the public record of funding pressures, refused checks, and Mitchell’s departure. No joint or separate “testimony” matching the exact scenario appears in available reporting.

Context

Polling firms routinely have clients, sponsors, subscriptions, or PAC-related work; independence claims are frequently contested across the industry (on both left- and right-leaning sides). Baris and Mitchell’s own comments document real friction around money, criticism of Trump-aligned interests, and independence in 2026. The precise bribery-plus-DoJ-threat narrative, however, reads as an amplified version of those statements rather than a documented event. No independent verification of the seven-figure offers or prosecution threats turned up in searches of contemporaneous reporting or the principals’ public comments."