Beneath the surface of a close presidential election and a tie in the final national poll by NBC News, some voters who have been reeling in recent weeks are worried about the “lesser of two evils” that could decide the 2024 election. It shows the way of thinking.
One voter says Vice President Kamala Harris is an “empty vessel.” Some worry that world leaders won’t respect Harris because she is a woman. Another concern for voters is that it’s not clear what she stands for other than opposing former President Donald Trump.
But some voters say Trump lacks the character and attitude a president should possess. He is “very rude” and “tells too many lies.” Others specifically condemned the racist and demeaning comments made by Trump allies at a rally at Madison Square Garden last week, saying they are alienating Americans instead of uniting them. there was.
That’s the most recent NBC News national poll conducted over the past few days, from voters who said they seriously considered voting for Harris or Trump in the past few weeks before choosing another option. Based on responses from 24 people.
This is a very small percentage of public opinion polls. Among those who said they would vote for Harris, only 2% said they had seriously considered Trump in the past few weeks (and vice versa).
But the answers from these voters, who have been given time to respond at length in their own words, will be used for final analysis by voters wondering who to support in potentially close elections in key battleground states. It made it clear what was going on. state.
For those who considered Harris but ended up supporting Trump, many of their reasons focused on the economy or dissatisfaction with the direction of the Biden administration. There were also concerns about Harris’ gender and whether she was “weak” in reality or perception.
“It makes me worry. Other countries won’t take him seriously, and they’ll take him even more seriously,” said a woman in her mid-to-late 40s from New York.
A Hispanic man in his mid-to-late 20s from Missouri made a similar contrast.
“Donald Trump seems like a bully to me, but it’s good to have a bully in your corner, especially since everything they do has been proven to lower inflation. “Sometimes even more so,” he said.
“On top of this, Kamala Harris seems like a principled person, but throughout the interviews she seems a little dim,” the poll respondent continued. “She is in power with Biden, and things are not going well in the world.”
Other voters scoffed at Harris’ laugh, calling Trump “very transparent about what he’s doing” and pointing to his support for Trump’s economic policies, including tariffs and exempting overtime pay.
For Harris supporters who briefly considered Trump seriously, the former president’s tone and attitude are significant.
“He’s so rude I can’t trust him. He lies about one thing too many times,” said a white woman over 65 from Wisconsin.
Two voters said that at Trump’s recent rally at Madison Square Garden, a comedian who spoke in front of Trump called Puerto Rico “trash” and others made sexist and other inflammatory comments. He mentioned it as an incident that made him feel uncomfortable.
A black Hispanic man in Pennsylvania slammed President Trump, falsely attributing comments about Puerto Ricans to him.
“I really didn’t like the rally in New York City that called Puerto Ricans trash. I can’t vote for that,” said an independent male between the ages of 25 and 29. Opinion poll responses. “Her policies are good for seniors.”
Experts say the election results are unlikely to be known on voting day.
With a minority of voters remaining undecided after a long campaign, a range of issues, emotions and breaking news can influence how they decide to vote.
The NBC News poll also asked about 400 respondents whether they had seen, read or heard anything in the past few weeks that gave them a more or less favorable impression of either candidate.
As for Harris, 40% said something happened that made them view her more favorably, while 43% said something happened that made her less favorable, and 17% said nothing would change. They said they didn’t, or that they didn’t see anything that would change their mind.
Meanwhile, 33% said something happened that made them view Trump more favorably, 46% said they saw something that made them view Trump less favorably, and 19% said nothing moved them. answered.
Again, when voters described things that made them view President Trump more negatively, a small number of voters brought up the rally’s comments about Puerto Ricans. Six of the 34 people who responded to the open-ended portion of the question specifically mentioned it.
“This whole political rally with this comedian was just the straw that broke the camel’s back,” said a 60- to 64-year-old Texas woman leaning toward Harris. “I’ve never had any respect for him, and it’s hard to forget that he incited a riot that led Americans to storm the Capitol. To me, that’s just the beginning of the end.”
When asked why their favorability rating for Harris has declined in recent weeks, several voters pointed to Harris’ current role in the White House and her relationship with President Joe Biden, while others pointed to Harris’ current role in the White House and relationship with President Joe Biden. I answered that I did not fully understand his plans.
“She’s not distancing herself from Joe Biden. She’s just following the path that Joe Biden has taken for the past four years,” said a middle-aged Florida man leaning toward President Trump. ” he said.
“I wish there was more focus on what the country needs,” said a middle-aged woman from Idaho who said she was likely to support a third-party candidate. “I think she’s focused on women’s needs. I think she’s attacking Trump. I feel like she doesn’t go deep into issues like immigration. She’s a condescending person. I feel like I’m saying a lot of words, but I don’t get the answers.She has a great vocabulary, but I don’t get the answers, as is the case with economics.
And one voter, a woman between 30 and 34 from Louisiana, who is still undecided, revealed why she was stuck.
“When it comes to Kamala, I don’t really know what she’s ever done for the country. And when it comes to Donald Trump, he’s done good things for the money,” she said.
But it added: “He has encouraged violence and racism in the country.”
This article first appeared on NBCNews.com. Read more from NBC News here:
