Please spare me the nonsense about undecided voters. To be undecided at this point you’d have to be willfully blind to Trump’s lies and mendacity. Or, as pollsters sanitize it, character issues. Here’s some advice to chew on undecideds: when one of the candidates is a habitual liar with a shaky grasp on reality, you don’t obsess about the positions of the other candidate. Instead you examine her character and, once you find it’s reasonable if not sterling you vote for her and run from the dumpster fire the other candidate creates on a daily basis
That sounds self righteous, dismissive, and arrogant - as do many of the other comment below - and it's characteristic of all the other Trump-hating Harris apologists on here. IMO, no one is truly qualified to be POTUS. That includes Harris, regardless of whether she is smart or allegedly a good person. Look at the undecided data. What it says to me is that people view national politicians as ambitious opportunists with giant egos that will tell people anything they want to hear. They don't believe politicians can solve anything. This leads to people becoming "irregular voters" because they just don't think it makes any difference. Instead of continuously making the case that Trump should not be president (which is what ALL of you do, rolls eyes), make a case that Harris should be. I have yet to see anyone on here that can do that, much less Harris herself or her campaign.
Why a Democrat should be president (i.e., Harris, because she is the nominee): will fight climate change rather than accelerate it; the country is majority pro choice, the president should be too; believes in the rule of law and the peaceful transition of power in accordance with the Constitution; common sense safety regulations on firearms, like background checks etc.; will show more mercy to Gaza than Trump ever would; similarly will be more humane with undocumented immigrants than snatching their toddlers out of their arms; will not be subordinate and propitiatory towards Putin; believes in and will act to support a rainbow society of equal rights for all ethnicities, races, gender identities, religions, and creeds; will be as good or better than Trump in overall economic performance and will work for the bottom half of income earners to get a fairer share of the economy's rewards; will tax the top 1% rich instead of leaving them frequently completely untaxed; I could even go on some more but the night is old so I'll stop here.
If someone is truly undecided they are either so ignorant or so oblivious they shouldn't be voting. But they're a tiny sliver. The REAL group that both sides are going for are the "irregular voters," who may or may not show up to vote.
How can anyone be undecided at this point? It’s either the person who speaks rationally and intelligently or the one who babbles like a demented old man. Who do you want to lead our country? Wake up. There’s no perfect candidate but there is clearly one who talks sense and one who talks nonsense.
Indeed. Being "undecided" in this election, according to one analogy I heard, is like being in the middle of raging storm and coming upon a refuge and saying, "I'm not sure if I should choose this. How many bathrooms does it have?"
And the news media is doing a terrible job challenging all Trump’s BS; the latest being the illegal immigrant app the sophisticated immigrants are using. I’m sure a Trump spokesperson could answer the question of where the app is available to download - NOT
Looking at the comments most here don't think undecided voters exist, but assuming they do there are plenty of people that don't like Trump personally but like his policies. Chris sees the possibility of Harris explaining her policies as an advantage for her, but you could also make the argument she is unable or unwilling to explain her policies in a positive way. This basically gives voters an excuse to vote for Trump.
Peggy Noonan wrote an article describing the race as Awful vs Empty. I don't know that it's necessarily better to be either. With Harris voters will fill in that emptiness with their own opinions which might be positive or negative.
Peggy Noonan’s take is just silly. Trump is offering all sorts of crazy promises that are impractical and hollow: IVF for all, re-instituting the SALT deduction that he cut last time. It’s pandering and half-assed. And his tariffs would spur more inflation. It’s nonsense to say Harris is “empty.” She’s advanced serious, well-thought out proposals re immigration, taxes, and tax credits to help parents and the middle class. People who say she hasn’t been substantive are disingenuous or too lazy to read.
Trump has three major policy groups that appeal to voters: 1) low taxes and low inflation; 2) repeal of Roe v Wade and associated "anti-woke" cultural issues and 3) control of the southern border. Merely because you (or I) disagree with these policies doesn't make them non-existent. 74 million people voted for Trump in 2020 and he may well be our next President. The agenda is real, effective and obvious to anyone outside of the deep blue echo chamber.
Trump was one of the most unproductive Presidents in our history. Your policy list is unserious.
1) Republicans generally do cut taxes and then say we can't afford public benefits. It's a formula for massive deficits which is unserious.
Low inflation isn't a policy. Tax cuts, tariffs and mass deportations are all inflationary policies.
2) Even Trump has backed away from outright bans on abortion. He flip flops.
Woke is made up BS as far as I can tell. It isn't policy. Democrats do support letting people live their own lives as they choose. I think that's less government and more freedom. Love thy Neighbor!
What is anti-woke? Lying about legal immigrants and causing threats in Springfield? Calling women without children Cat Ladies? Saying you hate Taylor Swift? Targeting trans kids? Targeting teachers and librarians?
3) Trump didn't fix border issues. Mexico didn't pay for the wall. Trump immorally separated families and then incompetently couldn't put them back together. Obama had less crossings his last 3 years than Trump. Legislation is how we try to fix things, especially bipartisan legislation. Biden/Harris did that. Trump had it blocked.
Biden/Harris also worked on fixing the problem at the source, not building a wall and pretending the problem doesn't exist.
Since 1989, 50M jobs created under Democrats and 1M under Republicans!
In your bubble, you need to overlook a lot of awful shit. Hundreds of thousands needlessly dead from Covid. Overthrowing a legally certified election is just fine. Stealing government documents is just fine. Supporting a felon for President is just fine. Supporting a self-admitted sexual predator and adjudicated rapist is just fine. Calling the fallen "suckers" and "losers" is just fine. Desecrating Arlington is just fine. Siding with Putin against America is just fine. Will you lovingly remember J6 forever?
The economy was in a tourniquet during the COVID shutdown. Anyone in the White House when the tourniquet was removed in 2021/2022 would have had high inflation. Look at what happened when the domestic economy came out of its last total stall, at the end of World War II: inflation hit 18% then, twice the rate of Biden's worst month. And Trump would have experienced the same 9% or so as Biden.
Former Pres. Trump also wants to expand the child tax credit. VP Harris has brilliant ideas that she just couldn’t ever convince her former boss to implement, but when she takes over she’ll really do it.
"Empty" will not include a mob storming the Capitol. "Empty" will not be empty of resistance to Putin unlike Awful. Empty will stand for health care and for women's medical rights, Awful will not. You and Peggy Noonan cannot tell if that "Empty" is or isn't better than Awful? Because I could go on yet a long time with more, these are just the highlights.
I have a question for Chris: why does climate change and the environment not appear at all in undecided voters' concerns (and in much other polling data on other groups, for that matter)? Specifically, is climate/environment being offered as a potential answer in the poll and drawing miserably low numbers in response, or is it being left out of the poll as though it were a non-issue? I for one am continually mystified that this enormous existential level issue draws so little attention in our current political discourse. As far as I can tell, the climate is already costing us more than illegal immigrants ever have.
That chart shows the country is still at risk...as a boomer I can clearly state we, as a generation, took the what we inherited and trashed it...we truly are the "me" ...we have screwed the next two generations
Also a Boomer and I so agree; I have much shame for our generation. I may never understand--I definitely don't yet--how peace, love, flowers, and Woodstock turned into the ravaging of our environment and the degradation of our politics on our watch. I did my best to resist and to stick to Woodstock values, but I like all Boomers owe a big apology to all our fellow Americans, especially younger Americans.
Undecided=voting for trump but too chickenshit to tell anyone because you know you are a homophobic racist but can't let anyone know how you really feel about black and brown folks.
You really think that the 74 million people who voted for Trump in 2020 are homophobic racists? Granted, whatever the homophobic racist vote is, Trump has it locked up. But the reason that most of these people voted for Trump is because they don't like people like you.
Reading comprehension is very important. Some might say it's vital.
The topic was the undecided voters. I'm going to reiterate that any voter who is undecided at this point knows exactly who they are voting for and just doesn't want to verbalize it.
I don't write that all 74 million voters for trump were homophobes and racists. You put out those words when I didn't.
My only point is that the minuscule number of voters who claim to be undecided are not. You would have to live under a rock for the past 9 years to not have an opinion on trump.
Since there is no regulation or requirement that voters declare to pollsters who they choose, there must be some reason they are unwilling to declare their choice. They could simply hang up the phone. But they don't.
Trump has consistently over performed his polling. There is a reason for that. It's not because they don't like me. It's because they don't feel comfortable declaring him as their candidate.
You made their case. Hate is a stupid rationale for deciding who to vote for.
The Springfield lies are about racism and xenophobia. At a minimum, you're complicit by supporting that behavior in a Presidential ticket. You're complicit in misogyny by ignoring that Trump is a self-admitted sexual predator and adjudicated rapist. He actually expressed sympathy for Jeffrey Epstein's accomplice, not the underage victims. That's really weird and sick.
The end is near for Trump and MAGA. America is sick and tired of the hate, ignorance and grievance. Nobody will miss you.
Brad, I'm not trying to defend Trump, I'm trying to help those who live in a deep blue bubble understand why other people vote for him. You've made it clear why you hate them. Do you have any idea (objectively, unemotionally) why they hate you?
I don't hate anyone. That's an offensive, unproductive accusation.
I live red, white and blue, not just blue. I don't see how anyone could support someone that tried to overthrow a legally certified election. An American puts the democratic process and peaceful transfer of power ahead of any political candidate.
I think they feel threatened and are lashing out. Hate gives them enemies to rally against.
MAGAts are the embodiment of scared and hateful of everyone and everything that is different...the billionaires who support Trump are competing to be the USA's first officially recognized oligarchs...
It is the zero information voters who are undecided. The question is..will they become more educated or blindly vote on a whim? Let's hope they do the former.
You’re calling an advantage what’s really a glass half full, Chris. At the same time she’s trying to gin turnout those points say she has to dial down the rhetoric that inspires that turnout operation. Meanwhile he just gets to attack since there isn’t much left to say on him. But the other half of the glass is she has the resources to define herself and shift those perceptions. Hence glass half full.
This is the first I've read on who is moderating the debate. I wonder how the dynamic of them both being women will play here. How will they approach Trump’s crimes if mentioned, and will they be forceful against the Vance misogyny?
I’m interested in the 3% of respondents about Donald that consider the court cases and convictions as a negative. Does that reflect utter disregard and contempt for the judicial system and belief that the cases are “politically motivated”? Or are they utterly unconcerned that a convicted felon might be president? Do they actually think that the courts in their state are somehow fair and objective, whereas New York State courts are hopelessly politicized? Or that he’s really not likely guilty of anything significant?
Please spare me the nonsense about undecided voters. To be undecided at this point you’d have to be willfully blind to Trump’s lies and mendacity. Or, as pollsters sanitize it, character issues. Here’s some advice to chew on undecideds: when one of the candidates is a habitual liar with a shaky grasp on reality, you don’t obsess about the positions of the other candidate. Instead you examine her character and, once you find it’s reasonable if not sterling you vote for her and run from the dumpster fire the other candidate creates on a daily basis
That sounds self righteous, dismissive, and arrogant - as do many of the other comment below - and it's characteristic of all the other Trump-hating Harris apologists on here. IMO, no one is truly qualified to be POTUS. That includes Harris, regardless of whether she is smart or allegedly a good person. Look at the undecided data. What it says to me is that people view national politicians as ambitious opportunists with giant egos that will tell people anything they want to hear. They don't believe politicians can solve anything. This leads to people becoming "irregular voters" because they just don't think it makes any difference. Instead of continuously making the case that Trump should not be president (which is what ALL of you do, rolls eyes), make a case that Harris should be. I have yet to see anyone on here that can do that, much less Harris herself or her campaign.
Why a Democrat should be president (i.e., Harris, because she is the nominee): will fight climate change rather than accelerate it; the country is majority pro choice, the president should be too; believes in the rule of law and the peaceful transition of power in accordance with the Constitution; common sense safety regulations on firearms, like background checks etc.; will show more mercy to Gaza than Trump ever would; similarly will be more humane with undocumented immigrants than snatching their toddlers out of their arms; will not be subordinate and propitiatory towards Putin; believes in and will act to support a rainbow society of equal rights for all ethnicities, races, gender identities, religions, and creeds; will be as good or better than Trump in overall economic performance and will work for the bottom half of income earners to get a fairer share of the economy's rewards; will tax the top 1% rich instead of leaving them frequently completely untaxed; I could even go on some more but the night is old so I'll stop here.
If someone is truly undecided they are either so ignorant or so oblivious they shouldn't be voting. But they're a tiny sliver. The REAL group that both sides are going for are the "irregular voters," who may or may not show up to vote.
I found this article to be very persuasive:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/the-undecided-voters-are-not-who-you-think-they-are/ar-AA1reKjO?cvid=57b815928fb243618fa9e45b98e1cf84&ei=8
How can anyone be undecided at this point? It’s either the person who speaks rationally and intelligently or the one who babbles like a demented old man. Who do you want to lead our country? Wake up. There’s no perfect candidate but there is clearly one who talks sense and one who talks nonsense.
Indeed. Being "undecided" in this election, according to one analogy I heard, is like being in the middle of raging storm and coming upon a refuge and saying, "I'm not sure if I should choose this. How many bathrooms does it have?"
😆
And the news media is doing a terrible job challenging all Trump’s BS; the latest being the illegal immigrant app the sophisticated immigrants are using. I’m sure a Trump spokesperson could answer the question of where the app is available to download - NOT
I’m more than frustrated by this garbage
Sorry. At this point there are no undecided. All that is left are the willfully ignorant.
Looking forward to what you have planned for Tuesday!
Mitt Romney is showing a real lack of moral leadership
When has he not?
When he voted to convict Trump in the first impeachment trial, that was dope/.
Yup!
Chris,
Loved you at CNN and love what you’re doing here!
Thanks Mark!
Looking at the comments most here don't think undecided voters exist, but assuming they do there are plenty of people that don't like Trump personally but like his policies. Chris sees the possibility of Harris explaining her policies as an advantage for her, but you could also make the argument she is unable or unwilling to explain her policies in a positive way. This basically gives voters an excuse to vote for Trump.
Peggy Noonan wrote an article describing the race as Awful vs Empty. I don't know that it's necessarily better to be either. With Harris voters will fill in that emptiness with their own opinions which might be positive or negative.
Peggy Noonan’s take is just silly. Trump is offering all sorts of crazy promises that are impractical and hollow: IVF for all, re-instituting the SALT deduction that he cut last time. It’s pandering and half-assed. And his tariffs would spur more inflation. It’s nonsense to say Harris is “empty.” She’s advanced serious, well-thought out proposals re immigration, taxes, and tax credits to help parents and the middle class. People who say she hasn’t been substantive are disingenuous or too lazy to read.
Trump has never had any real policies that I am aware of.
Harris has real policies with the child tax credit and affordable housing.
And she has already explained them. When has tRump *ever* explained his policies except to say “tariffs?”
Trump has three major policy groups that appeal to voters: 1) low taxes and low inflation; 2) repeal of Roe v Wade and associated "anti-woke" cultural issues and 3) control of the southern border. Merely because you (or I) disagree with these policies doesn't make them non-existent. 74 million people voted for Trump in 2020 and he may well be our next President. The agenda is real, effective and obvious to anyone outside of the deep blue echo chamber.
Trump was one of the most unproductive Presidents in our history. Your policy list is unserious.
1) Republicans generally do cut taxes and then say we can't afford public benefits. It's a formula for massive deficits which is unserious.
Low inflation isn't a policy. Tax cuts, tariffs and mass deportations are all inflationary policies.
2) Even Trump has backed away from outright bans on abortion. He flip flops.
Woke is made up BS as far as I can tell. It isn't policy. Democrats do support letting people live their own lives as they choose. I think that's less government and more freedom. Love thy Neighbor!
What is anti-woke? Lying about legal immigrants and causing threats in Springfield? Calling women without children Cat Ladies? Saying you hate Taylor Swift? Targeting trans kids? Targeting teachers and librarians?
3) Trump didn't fix border issues. Mexico didn't pay for the wall. Trump immorally separated families and then incompetently couldn't put them back together. Obama had less crossings his last 3 years than Trump. Legislation is how we try to fix things, especially bipartisan legislation. Biden/Harris did that. Trump had it blocked.
Biden/Harris also worked on fixing the problem at the source, not building a wall and pretending the problem doesn't exist.
Since 1989, 50M jobs created under Democrats and 1M under Republicans!
In your bubble, you need to overlook a lot of awful shit. Hundreds of thousands needlessly dead from Covid. Overthrowing a legally certified election is just fine. Stealing government documents is just fine. Supporting a felon for President is just fine. Supporting a self-admitted sexual predator and adjudicated rapist is just fine. Calling the fallen "suckers" and "losers" is just fine. Desecrating Arlington is just fine. Siding with Putin against America is just fine. Will you lovingly remember J6 forever?
Wow, Brad, excellent reply!!!
The economy was in a tourniquet during the COVID shutdown. Anyone in the White House when the tourniquet was removed in 2021/2022 would have had high inflation. Look at what happened when the domestic economy came out of its last total stall, at the end of World War II: inflation hit 18% then, twice the rate of Biden's worst month. And Trump would have experienced the same 9% or so as Biden.
Former Pres. Trump also wants to expand the child tax credit. VP Harris has brilliant ideas that she just couldn’t ever convince her former boss to implement, but when she takes over she’ll really do it.
Trump had a chance to support the child tax credit before. His Republican followers let it die.
"Empty" will not include a mob storming the Capitol. "Empty" will not be empty of resistance to Putin unlike Awful. Empty will stand for health care and for women's medical rights, Awful will not. You and Peggy Noonan cannot tell if that "Empty" is or isn't better than Awful? Because I could go on yet a long time with more, these are just the highlights.
The biggest falsehood promulgated by the media during this election cycle has been the myth of the “ undecided voter “.
Pure bullshit.
Here’s a more accurate description of the reality of where this nation is.
Millions of our fellow citizens are going to vote for a piece of excrement, just as they did in 2016 and 2020.
So… what does that say about them???
Ignorance, stupidity, and crassness are the triple header of reality in 2024.
I have a question for Chris: why does climate change and the environment not appear at all in undecided voters' concerns (and in much other polling data on other groups, for that matter)? Specifically, is climate/environment being offered as a potential answer in the poll and drawing miserably low numbers in response, or is it being left out of the poll as though it were a non-issue? I for one am continually mystified that this enormous existential level issue draws so little attention in our current political discourse. As far as I can tell, the climate is already costing us more than illegal immigrants ever have.
That chart shows the country is still at risk...as a boomer I can clearly state we, as a generation, took the what we inherited and trashed it...we truly are the "me" ...we have screwed the next two generations
Also a Boomer and I so agree; I have much shame for our generation. I may never understand--I definitely don't yet--how peace, love, flowers, and Woodstock turned into the ravaging of our environment and the degradation of our politics on our watch. I did my best to resist and to stick to Woodstock values, but I like all Boomers owe a big apology to all our fellow Americans, especially younger Americans.
Undecided=voting for trump but too chickenshit to tell anyone because you know you are a homophobic racist but can't let anyone know how you really feel about black and brown folks.
Exactly! Thank you!
You really think that the 74 million people who voted for Trump in 2020 are homophobic racists? Granted, whatever the homophobic racist vote is, Trump has it locked up. But the reason that most of these people voted for Trump is because they don't like people like you.
Reading comprehension is very important. Some might say it's vital.
The topic was the undecided voters. I'm going to reiterate that any voter who is undecided at this point knows exactly who they are voting for and just doesn't want to verbalize it.
I don't write that all 74 million voters for trump were homophobes and racists. You put out those words when I didn't.
My only point is that the minuscule number of voters who claim to be undecided are not. You would have to live under a rock for the past 9 years to not have an opinion on trump.
Since there is no regulation or requirement that voters declare to pollsters who they choose, there must be some reason they are unwilling to declare their choice. They could simply hang up the phone. But they don't.
Trump has consistently over performed his polling. There is a reason for that. It's not because they don't like me. It's because they don't feel comfortable declaring him as their candidate.
You made their case. Hate is a stupid rationale for deciding who to vote for.
The Springfield lies are about racism and xenophobia. At a minimum, you're complicit by supporting that behavior in a Presidential ticket. You're complicit in misogyny by ignoring that Trump is a self-admitted sexual predator and adjudicated rapist. He actually expressed sympathy for Jeffrey Epstein's accomplice, not the underage victims. That's really weird and sick.
The end is near for Trump and MAGA. America is sick and tired of the hate, ignorance and grievance. Nobody will miss you.
Brad, I'm not trying to defend Trump, I'm trying to help those who live in a deep blue bubble understand why other people vote for him. You've made it clear why you hate them. Do you have any idea (objectively, unemotionally) why they hate you?
I don't hate anyone. That's an offensive, unproductive accusation.
I live red, white and blue, not just blue. I don't see how anyone could support someone that tried to overthrow a legally certified election. An American puts the democratic process and peaceful transfer of power ahead of any political candidate.
I think they feel threatened and are lashing out. Hate gives them enemies to rally against.
MAGAts are the embodiment of scared and hateful of everyone and everything that is different...the billionaires who support Trump are competing to be the USA's first officially recognized oligarchs...
It is the zero information voters who are undecided. The question is..will they become more educated or blindly vote on a whim? Let's hope they do the former.
You’re calling an advantage what’s really a glass half full, Chris. At the same time she’s trying to gin turnout those points say she has to dial down the rhetoric that inspires that turnout operation. Meanwhile he just gets to attack since there isn’t much left to say on him. But the other half of the glass is she has the resources to define herself and shift those perceptions. Hence glass half full.
This is the first I've read on who is moderating the debate. I wonder how the dynamic of them both being women will play here. How will they approach Trump’s crimes if mentioned, and will they be forceful against the Vance misogyny?
We are suffering from an epidemic of certainty.
I’m interested in the 3% of respondents about Donald that consider the court cases and convictions as a negative. Does that reflect utter disregard and contempt for the judicial system and belief that the cases are “politically motivated”? Or are they utterly unconcerned that a convicted felon might be president? Do they actually think that the courts in their state are somehow fair and objective, whereas New York State courts are hopelessly politicized? Or that he’s really not likely guilty of anything significant?