Regarding the American polls, maybe the republicans are trying to replicate Austrian's ÖVP (conservatives) strategy of the late 2010s. By paying for more favorable polls in major newspapers, you can influence public perception by suggesting in which direction the wind is blowing currently, so there's a chance that real polls will eventually match the manipulated ones, because a lot of humans are easy prey for herd mentality. So if it is being suggested that a certain demographic favors Trump or shows increasing support for Trump, other people of this same demographic might be inclined to vote for Trump now despite the absence of reasonable reasons to do so.
In Austria this came to light a few years after Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP leader) had won in the national election and become chancellor, and it eventually ended with him stepping down and ultimately quitting as a politician altogether. Of course this is not going to happen in the USA, because the difference between conservatives and the far-right (which Trump belongs to) is that conservatives still have at least a slice of decency and conscience left.
The New York Times already has a history of running pro-Russia propaganda pieces, so would they publish manipulated polls that favor Trump who is known to be endorsed by Putin? Why yes, absolutely.
Legend11 correctly predicted that GTA IV will outsell Super Smash Bros. Brawl. I was wrong.
