The Washington Post compiled recent polling on the economy and found that while voters still believe Donald Trump would be better on the economy, his advantage over Kamala Harris has dropped significantly. This comes as both Trump and Harris gave speeches presenting their economic plans for the country.
By The Numbers:
As The Washington Post reported, the latest Fox News poll found 51% of voters trust Trump more on the economy versus 46% who trust Harris more. ABC News-Ispos showed 46% trust Trump, compared to 39% who trust Harris. NPR-PBS-Marist had Trump ahead on the issue by three points, 51%-48%; USA Today-Suffolk had Trump leading on it by six, 51%-45%; and Quinnipiac had Trump leading on it by seven points, 52%-45%.
While voters are starting to give Harris a chance, consumer confidence is increasing as well. Consumer sentiment was 69% in the latest University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers, up from 63.8% around this time last year. However, the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence index dropped 7 points in September to 98.7. This was the biggest one month drop since August 2021.
The Bottom Line: When Biden was the nominee, Democrats pretended there wasn’t a problem with the economy. They’ve since learned to speak the language of voters and address the issue. In Harris’s Wednesday speech, she called herself a “capitalist” and promised to work with the other side to find solutions. This is a big departure from where she and her party were a few months ago. It doesn’t help the Trump campaign that it ignored the economy recently to talk about other issues like dead pets in Ohio. There are 40 days left and Americas are already voting in some states. Harris should have difficulty positioning herself as the nation’s economic savior. Yet, she’s closed the gap on this issue. It’s time Republicans got disciplined. Trump’s Savannah speech this week was a good start, but he, his campaign and down ballot Republicans must pushing on the economy relentlessly.
