Some voters explain why they’re torn over Harris and Trump – NBC New York

Under the surface a close presidential race and the final NBC News nationwide poll, some swing voters in recent weeks illustrated the lesser of two evils thinking this could decide the 2024 election.

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

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

That’s what the answers of 24 respondents in the latest show NBC News National Pollconducted in recent days from voters who say they seriously considered voting for Harris or Trump in the past two or three weeks before choosing the other option.

That’s an extremely small share of the poll: Only 2 percent of those who said they would vote for Harris said they took Trump seriously (and vice versa) in recent weeks.

But the answers from these voters — who were given time for extended responses in their own words — shed light on what’s going on in the final analysis of voters torn about who to support in an election that it could be decided by slim margins in key battleground states.

For those who considered Harris but ended up supporting Trump, much of their reasoning focused on either the economy or frustration with the direction of the Biden administration. There were also concerns about Harris’ gender, or that she would be “skinny”, either in reality or perception.

“I’m worried, I think other countries won’t take it seriously and would take Trump more seriously,” said a New York woman in her mid-to-late 40s.

A Hispanic man from Missouri, who is in his mid-20s, presented 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 demonstrated that whatever he does will reduce inflation,” he said.

“Other than that, Kamala Harris seems like a principled person, albeit a bit of a no-nonsense person in her interviews,” the survey respondent continued. “She was in power with Biden and things were not right in the world.”

Other voters derided Harris’ laugh, 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 extra pay.

For Harris supporters who briefly took Trump seriously, the former president’s tone and demeanor loom large.

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

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

Mistakenly attributing the comment about Puerto Ricans to Trump, a black Hispanic man from Pennsylvania criticized Trump.

“The rally in New York where he called Puerto Ricans trash, I really didn’t like that. I can’t vote for that,” said the man, who is an independent between the ages of 25 and 29, according to him. survey response. “Her policies are good for seniors.”

Experts say the election results will likely not be known on election day.

With such a small pool of undecided voters after a long campaign, a constellation of issues, feelings or breaking news could sway these people as they decide how to cast their ballots.

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.

At Harris, 40% said they saw something that made them view her more favorably, while 43% said something made them view her less favorably and 17% said either nothing made a difference or that they saw nothing to change their minds. .

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 that nothing moved the needle.

Again, some voters brought up the rally comments about Puerto Ricans as voters described something that made them see Trump more negatively. It was specifically mentioned by six of the 34 people who answered the open-ended question.

“This whole political rally thing with the comedian was just the straw that broke the camel’s back,” said a 60-64-year-old Texas woman who leans toward Harris. “I never had any respect for him, and it’s hard to forget that he incited a riot that led Americans to attack the Capitol. For me, this is just the beginning of the end.”

Asked what made Harris less favorable in recent weeks, several voters pointed to her current role in the White House and her ties to President Joe Biden, while others indicated they don’t know enough about her plans.

“He didn’t distance himself from Joe Biden. She’s just following the path that Joe Biden has followed for the last four years,” said a middle-aged Florida man who leans toward Trump.

“I wish he would care more about what the country needs,” said a middle-aged woman from Idaho, who said she would likely support a third-party candidate. “I think he’s focusing on women’s needs. I think he’s attacking Trump. I feel like he’s not getting deep into the issue, like immigration. I feel like he’s saying a lot of smart words, but I’m not getting a response, like in the economy, the vocabulary they are very good, but I don’t get a response.”

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

“As for Kamala, I am not really sure what she has done for the country so far. And as for Donald Trump, he’s been good for the money,” she said.

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

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