President Trump shared a dubious Twitter poll Thursday that shows him to be considered “a better president” than his predecessor, former President Barack Obama.

Who is a better President of the United States? #ObamaDay — ProgressPolls (@ProgressPolls) August 4, 2017





The poll was conducted Aug. 4, Obama’s birthday. Nearly 30,000 people voted, but self-selecting online surveys are almost useless in terms of getting an accurate sample.

David Axelrod, a former Obama adviser, weighed in on Trump’s “desperate” embrace of the poll.

This "poll" is laughable. The fact that @realDonaldTrump felt the desperate need to share it is revealing…and, well, SAD. https://t.co/8QXcv5bxlT — David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) August 10, 2017





In contrast with the poll touted by Trump, scientific surveys use random sampling to try to get an accurate slice of the American public. Those mainstream polls have repeatedly given Trump historically dismal approval ratings.

And Trump has repeatedly lashed out and complained about those polls.

After 200 days, rarely has any Administration achieved what we have achieved..not even close! Don't believe the Fake News Suppression Polls! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 8, 2017





The ABC/Washington Post Poll, even though almost 40% is not bad at this time, was just about the most inaccurate poll around election time! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 16, 2017





Story continues

The two fake news polls released yesterday, ABC & NBC, while containing some very positive info, were totally wrong in General E. Watch! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 24, 2017





(The ABC/Washington Post and NBC/Wall Street Journal polls were actually within the margin of error on Election Day.)

The nature of ProgressPolls, the creator of the poll Trump shared Thursday, is murky. The account, which is unverified and has no corresponding website attached, was created in March 2016 but has scrubbed the bulk of its tweets from before July 26. The president’s son Donald Trump Jr., White House press secretary Sarah Sanders and erstwhile White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci are among its 124,000 followers.

Two recent ProgressPolls Twitter surveys asked users whether they believe the conspiracy theory purporting that the murder of Seth Rich was orchestrated by his employer, the Democratic National Committee, and whether the gender pay gap is a myth.

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