Most voters think that former President Donald Trump is a strong leader and that Vice President Kamala Harris is a weak leader, according to an Economist/YouGov poll.
The poll, published Wednesday, asked 1,549 U.S. adults, including 1,363-1,365 registered voters, for their perspective on both major party candidates’ leadership abilities, yielding a substantial gap between Trump and Harris.
Of all adults, 56 percent say Trump is a strong leader to varying degrees, with a plurality of 37 percent saying he is “very strong.” Another 19 percent think he is “somewhat” strong.
On the other hand, 44 percent of respondents describe him as a “weak” leader, including 13 percent who see him as “somewhat weak” and 31 percent who say he is “very weak” on this front.
The overall results from registered voters were close to those of all adults, with 54 percent describing Trump as a robust leader and 46 percent feeling the opposite.
Digging deeper, the poll shows that independents view Trump as a strong leader by an even wider margin. Just over six in ten independents say he is a strong leader. Another 38 percent believe he is “weak.”
Turning to Harris, a majority of 51 percent of U.S. adults view her as a “weak” leader, including a plurality of 38 percent who see her as “very weak.” Conversely, 49 percent believe she is a “strong” leader, with 24 percent seeing her as “very strong” and 25 percent describing her as “somewhat strong.”
The overall numbers hold true with registered voters.
Independents overwhelmingly lack faith in Harris’s ability to lead. A majority of 58 percent of unaffiliated voters think Harris is weak, compared to 42 percent who think she is strong.
A 41 percent plurality of independents describes her as “very weak,” and 17 percent see her as “somewhat weak.” A mere 13 percent view her as “very strong,” and 29 percent say she is “somewhat strong.”
The poll was conducted August 25-27, 2024, after the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, where fractures on the left were on full display, with anti-Harris, pro-Palestinian, and anti-Israel protesters making headlines all week.
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Matt Perdie / Breitbart NewsThe margin of error for the overall sample and for registered voters was ± 3.2 percentage points.
