Most Americans say Kamala Harris should completely abandon or make major economic changes to Joe Biden’s economic policies, a poll for the Financial Times and the University of Michigan Ross School of Business shows, even while they give her a razor-thin lead over Donald Trump when asked who they trust more on the economy.
A plurality of Americans say that if she wins the presidential election this year, Harris should “completely abandon” Biden’s economic policies, according to the survey released Monday. Another twenty-three percent say she should make major changes.
Only 11 percent say that Harris should adopt Biden’s policies without changes. Another 29 percent say that she should make minor changes to Biden’s policies.
With 60 percent saying they want major or complete change, Harris faces a serious dilemma as a candidate. She has been one of the most vocal champions of what she has repeatedly called “Bidenomics” and cast the deciding votes in the Senate in favor of most Biden’s key economic policies.
Despite this demand for change, the latest poll gives Harris a slight lead over Trump on the question of who voters trust more on the economy. Forty-two percent say they trust Harris more, compared with 41 percent who say they trust Trump, and 10 percent say they do not trust either candidate.
This is a major shift in public opinion. A month ago, the poll showed Trump at the same 41 percent and Biden down at 35 percent. Eighteen percent said they trusted neither party’s nominee.
Harris’s lead over Trump is within the poll’s 3.1 percent margin of error. And the most recent poll has slightly more Democrat and Democrat leaners than the earlier poll. But even with those caveats, it is clear that Harris is trusted much more than Biden was on the economy.
Trump enjoys a solid lead on the question of whether voters think they will be better off financially if he is elected. Forty-two percent of the registered voters say they will be better off if Trump is elected. Forty percent say they’ll be worse off.
Just 33 percent say they will be better off under a Harris presidency, below the 38 percent who say they’ll be worse off.