Some voters explain why they doubt Harris and Trump – NBC New York

Under the surface of an exciting presidential race and NBC News’ tied national poll illustrates the lesser of two evils for the handful of voters who have wavered in recent weeks I think this could decide the 2024 election.

Vice President Kamala Harris is an ’empty vessel,’ says one voter. Others worry that world leaders will not respect Harris because she is a woman. Another voter’s concern: It’s not clear what she stands for, beyond her opposition to former President Donald Trump.

But then there are voters who say Trump lacks the character or attitude a president should have. He is ‘very rude’ and ‘lies too much’. And some specifically panned the racist and demeaning rhetoric from Trump allies at last week’s rally at Madison Square Garden, criticizing them for alienating Americans instead of bringing them together.

This is evident from the answers of 24 respondents in the latest version national NBC News pollconducted in recent days, among voters who say they seriously considered voting for Harris or Trump over the past two or three weeks before choosing the other option.

It’s an extremely small portion of the poll: Only 2% of those who said they would vote for Harris said they had seriously considered Trump in recent weeks (and vice versa).

But the responses from these voters — who were given time for lengthy answers in their own words — shed some light on what’s in the final analysis from voters divided over who to support in an election that could be decided by narrow margins in key battleground states.

For those who considered Harris but ultimately supported Trump, much of their reasoning focused on the economy or frustration with the direction of the Biden administration. There were also concerns about Harris’ gender or whether she was “weak,” both in reality and in perception.

“I worry, I think other countries won’t take her seriously and they will take Trump even more seriously,” said a New York woman in her mid-to-late 40s.

A Hispanic man in Missouri, in his mid-to-late twenties, raised a similar contrast.

“Donald Trump strikes me as a bully, but it’s good to have a bully in your corner, especially when they’ve proven that whatever they do will lower inflation,” he said.

“Additionally, Kamala Harris seems like a principled person, although her interviews make her seem a bit stupid,” the respondent continued. “She has been in power with Biden and all is not well with the world.”

Other voters mocked Harris’ laughter, called Trump “more transparent in what he wants to do” and cited their support for Trump’s economic policies such as tariffs and not taxing overtime.

For those Harris supporters who thought briefly and seriously about Trump, the former president’s tone and behavior looms large.

“He’s very rude and I just don’t trust him. He lies too much for one thing,” said a white woman over 65 years old from Wisconsin.

Two voters mentioned Trump’s recent meeting at Madison Square Gardenwhere a comedian spoke for Trump called Puerto Rico “garbage” and others made sexist and other inflammatory comments as something that turned them off.

A black Hispanic man in Pennsylvania incorrectly attributed the comment about Puerto Ricans to Trump.

“I really didn’t like the meeting in New York City where he called Puerto Ricans trash. I can’t vote for that,” said the man, who is between 25 and 29 years old, according to his poll response. “Her policy is good for seniors.”

Experts say election results likely won’t be known on Election Day.

Because such a small group of voters has yet to make a decision after a long campaign, a constellation of issues, feelings, or late news could have some influence on these people in deciding how to cast their votes.

The NBC News poll also asked about 400 respondents if they had seen, read or heard anything about either candidate in recent weeks that gave them a more or less favorable impression of them.

Of Harris, 40% said they saw something that made them think more favorably of her, while 43% said something made them think less favorably of her and 17% said nothing made a difference, or that they didn’t see anything had seen that changed his mind. .

Meanwhile, 33% said they saw something that made them view Trump more favorably, while 46% said they saw something that made them view him less favorably, and 19% said nothing moved the needle for them.

Once again, a handful of voters brought up the rally comments about Puerto Ricans as voters described something that made them view Trump more negatively. It was specifically mentioned by six of the 34 people who responded to the open-ended part of the question.

“This whole political rally thing with the comedian was just the straw that broke the camel’s back,” said a Texas woman, aged 60 to 64, who is leaning towards supporting Harris. “I never had any respect for him and it’s hard to forget that he incited a riot that caused the American people to attack the Capitol. That’s just the beginning of the end for me.”

When asked what has made them less favorable to Harris in recent weeks, several voters pointed to her current role in the White House and her ties to President Joe Biden, while others said they did not know enough about her plans.

“She has not distanced herself from Joe Biden. She’s just following the path that Joe Biden has been on for the last four years,” said a middle-aged Florida man who leans toward Trump.

“I wish she would be more concerned with what the country needs,” said a middle-aged woman from Idaho, who said she would likely support a third-party candidate. “I think she focuses on the needs of women. I think she’s attacking Trump. I feel like she doesn’t go deep into the issue, like immigration. I feel like she’s saying a lot of smart words, but I’m not getting an answer. just like with the economy. Her vocabulary is really good, but I can’t get an answer.”

And one voter, a Louisiana woman between the ages of 30 and 34 who remains undecided, sheds light on why she remains incarcerated.

“As for Kamala, I don’t know exactly what she has done for the country so far. And as for Donald Trump, he has done well for his money,” she said.

But, she added, “he has encouraged violence and racism in the country.”

This article first appeared on NBCNews.com. Read more from NBC News here: