Polling guru Nate Silver, who created the poll aggregating website FiveThirtyEight, was on Twitter last week writing about how some polls are occasionally inaccurate and how that's often an expected result.
Silver explained:
If polls are becoming less accurate—it's not clear they are but leave that aside for a moment—people basically just… https://t.co/vNPgnmCrD3— Nate Silver (@Nate Silver) 1605023902.0
@NateSilver538 I think a measurement tool that's simultaneously becoming more common and accessible and also less a… https://t.co/ntKszWDcSm— Chris Hayes (@Chris Hayes) 1605024164.0
@chrislhayes There's not actually much evidence that polls are becoming less accurate. They had perhaps their best… https://t.co/0R6aslXMUg— Nate Silver (@Nate Silver) 1605024370.0
Five days later, Donald Trump Jr., son of President Trump, tried to serve up a burn for Silver.
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. (@Donald Trump Jr.) 1605481534.0
Sadly for Trump, Silver was quick to reply with a burn of his own.
@DonaldJTrumpJr I'll still have a job on January 21st, though.— Nate Silver (@Nate Silver) 1605481744.0
@NateSilver538 @DonaldJTrumpJr A job your daddy didn't give you.— George Conway (@George Conway) 1605483593.0
Twitter fell right into line behind Silver, laughing at Don Jr.'s tweet.
@NateSilver538 @DonaldJTrumpJr Jokes on you Nate, Junior has never had a job. Can't lose what you never had. https://t.co/zz6C7dyVHU— SportsPoliticsCoffee (@SportsPoliticsCoffee) 1605481871.0
@NateSilver538 @DonaldJTrumpJr https://t.co/YwOylLO77p— Terry Matalas (@Terry Matalas) 1605482954.0
No matter what pollsters may have predicted, Joe Biden emerged from the 2020 elections victorious.
@NateSilver538 @DonaldJTrumpJr https://t.co/6XRnCztx3g— Jason Harrison (@Jason Harrison) 1605482029.0
@NateSilver538 @DonaldJTrumpJr And you didn't inherit an online forecasting empire from your father's father, eithe… https://t.co/hNdBJn9yVk— LoganB🇺🇸🇪🇪🇪🇺 (@LoganB🇺🇸🇪🇪🇪🇺) 1605481952.0
@BartlingLogan @NateSilver538 @DonaldJTrumpJr Unaccomplished? Don Jr. has had his name put on more than one book th… https://t.co/rFsVQLjwQJ— Mike Kelly (@Mike Kelly) 1605482770.0
The Trump family may think they're doing themselves a favor by serving up shade on Twitter, but the President's activity on the social media platform played a major role in his re-election failure.
@NateSilver538 @Lee_in_Iowa @DonaldJTrumpJr Wait, Don Jr. has a job?— Andrew C Laufer, Esq (@Andrew C Laufer, Esq) 1605482199.0
@NateSilver538 @DonaldJTrumpJr Donald Jr. Never had a real job. Don’t flatter him.— Michael Thomas (@Michael Thomas) 1605492148.0
@NateSilver538 @DonaldJTrumpJr Boom! Junior has never had a real job and he's never supported himself.— Leslieoo7 ☠️ 🇺🇲 (@Leslieoo7 ☠️ 🇺🇲) 1605481870.0
It seems that in this case, as in so many others, Nate Silver was prepared for every eventuality and worked it into his calculations.
The result? A perfect zinger.