Scott Rasmussen says polling shows elites do not understand the rest of the country

Rasmussen, who created the polling company Rasmussen Reports, said the majority of Americans care more about sports and baseball season than presidential debates and politics.

Published: July 1, 2024 9:50pm

Polling powerhouse Scott Rasmussen claimed Monday that recent polls show a major disconnect between the elite one percent of the country, and voters when it comes to priorities. 

Rasmussen, who created the polling company Rasmussen Reports, said the majority of Americans care more about sports and baseball season than presidential debates and politics. Viewership for the first presidential debate last week, saw lower numbers than the first debate for the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, according to CBS News.

"What it suggests first is that the elites don't understand the country they want to rule over, even on something as simple as who's going to watch the debate," Rasmussen said on the "Just The News, No Noise" TV show. "We start talking about particular issues and the gap has enormous implications ... One of them is that a majority of people in this elite world, the elite one percent, believe that the federal government should have the power to censor social media posts. Only 16% of voters agree."

Rasmussen said another example of the disconnect between voters and elite Democrats is that when it comes to gun laws, most Americans do not agree that private handgun ownership should be banned. 

"You have this group that is going to try and implement policies and actions, that they think are right and natural, and they are running right into this tremendous amount of opposition that they don't see coming," Rasmussen said. "So the elite bubble breeds problems for the people right now, in President [Joe] Biden's orbit, because they are misunderstanding how the American people are."

The pollster also commented on the viewership of the first presidential debate, and the impact it could have on voter turnout. Rasmussen claimed the debate would probably harm Democrats more because of a lower voter turnout, but that voters were not likely to switch parties.

He also predicted that 2024 could be like the 1980 election between former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, where a third party candidate, John Anderson, took a notable percent of the vote that helped Reagan win the presidency. 

"It may be that if nothing changes, a lot of people will say 'I can't vote for Joe Biden, I'm not gonna vote for Trump, I'm gonna stay home or I'm gonna vote for [Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]'" Rasmussen said.

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