A CNN poll taken immediately after the debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris found that the percentage of voters who trust Trump more than Harris on the economy jumped from +16 percent to +20 percent.
CNN’s Jake Tapper introduced the poll by saying to CNN political director David Chalian, “The first results of our instant poll of debate-watchers have just come in and David Chalian is going to join us now to break it all down. David, tell us more.”
“Yeah, Jake, and as you noted, this is a poll of debate watchers,” Chalian pointed out. “This is not a poll that represents the overall population, although in partisan breakdown it is pretty close to what the overall registered population looks like in the country.”
Later in the event, Chalian presented the results of a poll asking viewers which candidate, Trump or Harris, they trusted more on the economy. While Trump had a 16-point advantage over Harris before the debate (53%–37%), his lead had increased to 20% (55%–35%) during the discussion.
During the debate, Trump stated, “We’ve had a terrible economy because inflation has — which is really known as a country buster. It breaks up countries. We have inflation like very few people have ever seen before. Probably the worst in our nation’s history. … everybody knows I’m an open book. Everybody knows what I’m going to do. Cut taxes very substantially. And create a great economy like I did before. We had the greatest economy.”
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As noted by The Daily Wire, voters have indicated for months that the economy is a top issue:
–September 10: CBS News: “About 8 in 10 adults tell CBS News that the economy is a major factor in their choice at the polls, outpacing issues such as abortion and climate change.”
–The Economist/YouGov poll, August 11-13: 73% of those polled said jobs and the economy were very important to them, far surpassing any other issue.
–July 30: Statista: “A survey conducted in July 2024 found that the most important issue for 25 percent of Americans was inflation and prices. A further ten percent of respondents were most concerned about jobs and the economy.”
–March 6: Data For Progress noted that between July 2023 to February 2024, inflation “held the top spot for the majority of the time” among issues important to voters.
Trump looks to have made impressive gains over Vice President Kamala Harris, gaining roughly 14 points among independents and 19 points among Latino voters.
According to new polling from NPR/PBS News/Marist, Trump, 78, surpassed Harris, 59, by three points among independents in a multi-candidate race, 49% to 46%. This represents a considerable increase since August, when Trump trailed Harris, 59, by 11 points, 48% to 37%.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who had received 12% of the vote in the previous survey, withdrew from the contest and endorsed Trump in the interim between the August and September polls. Furthermore, it seems that Harris’s “honeymoon” following her sudden ascent to the nomination has started to level out.
In August, Trump led Harris by fifteen points, 54% to 39%, among Latino voters; by now, Trump leads by four points, with 51% of the vote to Harris’s 47%.
According to the poll, almost 70% of Americans said they would watch the debate, and 30% of registered voters think it would influence their decision on who to support. However, 69% of respondents say it probably won’t be beneficial.
In another encouraging development for Trump, he narrowed the deficit against Harris in a national contest by two points, with the vice president barely edging him.
In the most recent survey of those registered to vote in a contest with several candidates, Harris defeated Trump 49% to 48%. When registered voters were pitted against multiple candidates back in August, Harris was leading 48% to 45%.
