Harris has advantage over Trump on honesty, discipline: Poll

Voters are more likely to describe Vice President Harris as honest and someone who is disciplined than they are former President Trump, according to a poll published Wednesday.

The Associated Press/NORC Research Center survey found that nearly half of Americans would describe Harris as “committed to democracy” and “disciplined,” compared to about 30 percent for Trump, and 40 percent said the same for “honest,” compared to just under 25 percent for the former president.

Additionally, about 4 in 10 respondents said Harris “cares about people like you,” to about 3 in 10 for Trump, according to the poll.

The results come as Harris jumps out in front of Trump in polling, seizing on momentum from the start of her presidential campaign that has breathed life into Democrats’ November hopes. The Harris and Trump campaigns have fought each other over how to characterize the vice president, with the former president’s camp labeling her as ineffective and untrustworthy.

At the same time, the Trump campaign has characterized the former president as a strong leader, though that hasn’t turned into an advantage for him, according to the poll. About 4 in 10 respondents view the GOP nominee as a strong leader or say he can handle a crisis — about the same proportion as Harris. 

On the issues, Trump leads when discussing the economy or immigration, while Harris has an advantage on health care, abortion policy or race issues, the survey indicated.

Democrats are also significantly more excited to vote for Harris than President Biden, showing a broad reset in the campaign since he stepped out of the race late last month. About two-thirds of Democrats said they are very or extremely “excited” to vote in the November election, an improvement from 40 percent in March.

Harris leads Trump by 1.4 percent in the The Hill/Decision Desk HQ’s average of national polls and has largely erased the former president’s lead over Biden in key battleground states.