Voters assess Vice President Kamala Harris more positively than former President Donald Trump on many personal characteristics.
Majorities of voters describe both Trump and Harris as “standing up for what they believe in,” but Trump has a 9 percentage point edge on this trait. About seven-in-ten voters (69%) say this describes him either very or fairly well, while six-in-ten say this about Harris.
Harris has double-digit advantages over Trump on several other characteristics:
- 64% of voters say “even-tempered” describes Harris very or fairly well. By comparison, only half as many (32%) say this about Trump.
- 34% of voters see Trump as a good role model, while 53% of voters say this about Harris.
- 51% of voters say Harris is very or fairly well described as “down-to-earth.” About four-in-ten (38%) say this about Trump.
Harris has more modest advantages over Trump in being seen as mentally sharp (61% to 52%), honest (47% vs. 39%) and caring about the needs of ordinary people (51% vs. 44%).
Harris also has a slight edge on being seen as having a good sense of humor: 55% say this describes her very or fairly well, while 49% say it describes Trump this well.
Neither candidate has an advantage in being seen as well-informed: About half of voters say this describes Harris (52%) and Trump (49%) very or fairly well.
Perceptions of Harris and Trump today versus Biden and Trump in July
Today, 61% of voters say “mentally sharp” describes Harris very or fairly well – making it one of the traits where she is viewed most positively overall, and one on which she has a modest advantage in perceptions over Trump.
But this is a marked contrast to Trump and his then-likely opponent President Joe Biden in July. At that time, only about a quarter of voters (24%) said mentally sharp described Biden very or fairly well.
Fewer voters now say that mentally sharp describes Trump very or fairly well (58% in July vs. 52% now). The decrease is largely a result of Harris supporters giving Trump lower ratings than Biden supporters did in July. Trump supporters’ views of his mental sharpness are essentially unchanged.
Voters see Harris and Biden as similarly honest and caring about the needs of ordinary people. About half of voters say these traits apply to Harris now, and similar shares said this about Biden before he dropped out.
Smaller shares of voters apply these characteristics to Trump.
Perceptions of the candidates among their supporters
Both Harris and Trump generally receive high marks from their supporters on their personal traits and characteristics, but there are some traits where supporters are less positive, especially toward Trump.
Nearly all Trump and Harris supporters say their candidate stands up for what they believe in and that they are mentally sharp, but they vary in how well these traits describe their candidates. Trump’s supporters are more likely than Harris’ to say standing up for his beliefs describes him very well(78% vs. 59%), while Harris’ supporters are more likely than Trump’s to say she is very well described as mentally sharp (74% vs. 65%).
The candidates are rated similarly among their supporters as being well-informed, having a good sense of humor and caring about the needs of ordinary Americans.
There are several characteristics where Harris’ supporters give her higher marks than Trump’s supporters give him:
- 95% of Harris supporters say “even-tempered” describes her very or fairly well. By comparison, 62% of Trump supporters say that description applies to him.
- 68% of Trump supporters give Trump high marks on being a good role model, compared with 94% of Harris supporters who say that describes her at least fairly well.
- Trump also does less well among his supporters on being down-to-earth (75% very or fairly well vs. 89% of Harris supporters who say this about her), and on being honest (76% vs. 87%).
Do voters see the candidates as ‘too personally critical’?
In this year’s presidential campaign, voters view Trump’s tone more negatively than Harris’.
- A majority of voters (66%) say that Trump is being too personally critical of Harris, while about a third (32%) say he is not.
- 53% of registered voters say Harris is not being too personally critical of Trump, while 45% say she is.
In 2016, Trump was seen as running a more negative campaign than any other recent presidential candidate.
Overall, voters are more likely to say the candidate they do not support has a negative tone than to say this about their own candidate. About nine-in-ten Harris supporters (92%) and eight-in-ten Trump supporters (78%) say the other candidate is too personally critical of the candidate they support.
More Trump supporters than Harris supporters say their own candidate’s tone is too critical. About four-in-ten Trump supporters (41%) say he is being too critical of Harris. By comparison, just 12% of Harris supporters say she is too critical of Trump.
Do the candidates make you feel proud, hopeful, uneasy or angry?
When asked about whether Harris or Trump makes them feel several emotions, fewer than a third of voters say that either of the candidates evoke a feeling of pride or hope.
Pride
About a quarter of voters (26%) say that Harris makes them feel extremely or very proud, while a nearly identical share (27%) say this about Trump.
Hope
Roughly similar shares say the candidates make them feel hopeful (27% for Harris, 31% for Trump).
Unease
Somewhat larger shares say the candidates make them feel uneasy: 44% say Harris makes them feel this way, and about the same share (47%) say this about Trump.
Anger
Voters are slightly more likely to say that Trump makes them feel extremely or very angry (37%) than to say this about Harris (30%).
How the candidates make Harris and Trump supporters feel
Majorities of Harris and Trump supporters say their candidate makes them feel proud or hopeful.
- 53% of Harris supporters and 56% of Trump supporters say their candidate makes them feel extremely or very proud.
- Trump supporters are particularly likely to say he makes them feel extremely or very hopeful (64%). Among Harris’ supporters, 54% say this about her.
But substantially larger majorities of the candidates’ supporters say the other candidate makes them feel negative emotions, with Harris supporters especially likely to say Trump makes them feel angry.
- An overwhelming 89% of Harris backers say Trump makes them feel uneasy. About eight-in-ten Trump backers (84%) say Harris makes them feel this way. Very few Harris (3%) and Trump (5%) supporters say the other candidate makes them feel not too or not at all uneasy.
- 71% of Harris supporters say Trump makes them feel extremely or very angry, while just 9% say he does not (20% say he makes them feel somewhat uneasy). And 59% of Trump supporters say Harris makes them feel extremely or very angry, while 18% say she does not (23% say she makes them feel somewhat uneasy).
