Donald Trump Jr trolled this pollster and his brutal comeback won everybody’s vote
One thing we can all agree on – can’t we? – is that election opinion polls don’t seem to be quite as accurate as they used to be.
Here’s one of the best known, Nate Silver, tackling the issue on Twitter.
If polls are becoming less accurate—it's not clear they are but leave that aside for a moment—people basically just need to accept that there's more uncertainty. But instead what will happen is that people will just be more confident in their dubious narratives and hot takes.
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) November 10, 2020
It prompted an interesting debate, with exchanges like this.
I think a measurement tool that's simultaneously becoming more common and accessible and also less accurate is a pretty bad combination.
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) November 10, 2020
There's not actually much evidence that polls are becoming less accurate. They had perhaps their best year ever in 2018. 2016 and 2020 polling errors were slightly worse than average but within a fairly normal range.
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) November 10, 2020
And it caught the attention of Donald Trump Jr who responded with all the characteristic charm you would expect.
We understand you’re trying to salvage a very lucrative career in polling punditry but it’s getting ridiculous. https://t.co/V6hXNyUNRk
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) November 15, 2020
We’re very glad he did, because Nate Silver’s response was an absolute vote winner.
I'll still have a job on January 21st, though.
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) November 15, 2020
Oof.
— Brian Cuban (@bcuban) November 15, 2020
Source @natesilver538
