• Vice President JD Vance told Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum that Fox News has "the worst polling" during a Tuesday interview on The Story
  • A Fox News survey from late January showed Democrats leading Republicans 52% to 46% in generic congressional ballot preference ahead of 2026 midterms
  • Fox News polling carries an "A" rating from FiveThirtyEight and is conducted by a bipartisan team of Democratic and Republican pollsters

WASHINGTON, DC (TDR) — Vice President JD Vance dismissed Fox News polling as "the worst" during a wide-ranging Tuesday interview with anchor Martha MacCallum — the same broadcast he used to pitch the administration's midterm election strategy directly to the network's audience.

MacCallum presented a Fox News poll from late January showing Democratic candidates leading Republicans 52% to 46% in generic congressional ballot preference — a six-point gap she noted "would not be good for the majority."

"That would not be good. I will say, as much as we love Fox News, we always think Fox News has the worst polling."

Vance then added that both he and President Donald Trump share that view.

"Me and the president agree on that. I'm sorry. It's true."

MacCallum pushed back, noting that other polling outfits show similar numbers but that she was presenting her network's own data.

"I can show you other ones that are very similar, but since they're ours, I show ours."

Fox News Polling Carries Top Industry Ratings

The exchange highlights a persistent tension between the Trump administration and one of its most reliable media allies. Fox News polling is conducted under the joint direction of Beacon Research, a Democratic firm, and Shaw & Company Research, a Republican firm led by University of Texas professor Daron Shaw. The operation has earned an "A" rating from FiveThirtyEight based on accuracy and methodology — one of the highest grades in the industry.

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The bipartisan structure is by design. Shaw serves as the Republican pollster on the team while Beacon Research President Chris Anderson handles the Democratic side. Media Bias/Fact Check rates the operation as having high factual reporting with solid predictive accuracy.

Trump has repeatedly attacked Fox News polling when results prove unfavorable, writing on Truth Social that "MAGA HATES FoxNews" over its polling while praising the network's on-air talent. In a September 2025 interview — also with MacCallum — Trump told her directly that Fox News needs to "hire a new pollster." He has also expanded a defamation lawsuit to include the New York Times/Siena poll over unfavorable findings.

Vance Pivots to Economic Pitch for Midterms

After dismissing the polling, Vance shifted to the administration's midterm argument — framing the 2026 elections as a referendum on economic recovery from the Biden era.

"If you go back to the Biden administration, the average American lost about $3,000 in take-home pay during the four years that Democrats were in charge."

Vance then claimed gains under the current administration.

"In the first year of the Trump administration, average Americans have gained about $1,200. Now, there's kind of a good news, bad news dynamic there."

The White House has cited similar figures, stating that Americans lost over $2,900 in purchasing power under Joe Biden while real wages have grown nearly 4% under Trump's second term. Economists across the spectrum agree that inflation eroded real wages significantly during 2021-2023, though the causes and recovery timeline remain subjects of legitimate debate among researchers.

The Pattern of Shooting the Messenger

The broader pattern raises questions about how the administration handles data it finds inconvenient. The Fox News poll also found that 8% of self-identified Republicans would back a Democratic candidate in 2026 — double the 4% of Democrats who said they would cross party lines. Voter motivation tracked at levels comparable to the 2022 midterm cycle, with Democrats showing higher enthusiasm at 82% compared to 76% of Republicans.

Republican pollster Daron Shaw — the same researcher the administration has criticized — noted that generic ballot questions become more predictive closer to summer but provide a useful baseline this far out.

When an administration routinely dismisses unfavorable data from its own allied media's A-rated polling operation, does the problem lie with the methodology — or with what the numbers reveal?

Sources

This report was compiled using information from Mediaite's coverage of the Vance interview, Fox News' official polling methodology, the Fox News midterm poll from January 2026, Beacon Research's portfolio, The Hill's reporting on Trump's polling attacks, Newsweek's coverage of Trump dismissing Fox polling, The Daily Beast's reporting on Trump's Truth Social posts, White House economic data, PolitiFact's wage analysis, and Media Bias/Fact Check's pollster rating.

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