Trump Invents Poll: No ‘New Fox Poll’ Shows ‘40% Approval’ From African Americans

A man holds a sign as he takes part in a protest against Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump in New York on March 19,2016. / AFP / KENA BETANCUR (Photo credit should read KENA BETANCUR/AFP/Getty Images)
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President Donald Trump on Sunday invented a Fox News poll that he said showed 40 percent support among African Americans.

TPM found no evidence of poll results saying that. A Fox News poll released Oct. 17 showed 29 percent approval of the President among all non-white registered voters, and 47 percent overall approval among registered voters.

As the Washington Post’s Aaron Blake pointed out, the President may have been referring to a daily tracking poll performed by Rasmussen that, according to an Oct. 29 report from the company, showed 40 percent approval for Trump among black voters.

A Fox News spokesperson confirmed as much in an email to TPM Sunday: “He is referencing a Rasmussen poll,” the spokesperson wrote, linking to the tracking poll. White House spokespeople did not respond to TPM’s request for comment.

In August, when the same Rasmussen tracking poll showed that 36 percent of black voters supported the President, Political Science Professor Michael Tesler criticized the finding in the Washington Post, writing: “Polling firms that have interviewed far more African Americans, and that are much more transparent than Rasmussen, all show that Trump’s black approval rating is much lower than 36 percent.”

On Saturday, Fox News contributor Deroy Murdock mentioned the Rasmussen poll in an opinion piece on FoxNews.com.

Journalists noted Trump’s invention Sunday:

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