Are Americans more concerned with Harris or Trump ties to ‘radicals’? What poll found

More Americans are worried about former President Donald Trump having “radical” ties than they are about Vice President Kamala Harris, new polling reveals.

In the latest Gallup poll, 55% of respondents said they were concerned that Trump “may be too closely aligned with people who hold radical political views.” This includes 41% who were “very concerned” and 14% who were “somewhat concerned.”

In contrast, just under half of respondents, 49%, said they were concerned about Harris’ ties to those with “radical” views — with 34% saying they were very concerned and 15% saying they were somewhat concerned.

Conducted between Oct. 1 and 12, the poll sampled 1,023 U.S. adults and has a margin of error of four percentage points.

The poll, which did not define what constituted as radical, comes at the tail-end of a campaign season in which both candidates have tried to paint their opponent as being outside the mainstream.

Harris has called Trump a “fascist” and a would-be dictator who desires “unchecked power.” Trump, in turn, has labeled her as a “communist” and a “Radical Left Lunatic.”

The results of the poll — released less than two weeks before Election Day — largely broke along partisan lines.

The vast majority of Democrats, 85%, said they were very concerned the former president may be too aligned with radicals, while just 2% said the same about Harris.

A smaller share of Republicans, 69%, said they were very concerned that Harris could be too close to radicals, while 6% said the same about Trump.

Independents, meanwhile, were more likely to express deep anxiety about Trump’s ties compared to Harris’ — 38% to 30%.

The share of Americans who are worried about Trump’s problematic ties has not changed significantly over the last four years.

In a 2020 Gallup poll, 54% of respondents said they were somewhat or very concerned about Trump potentially having radical ties.

A smaller share, 47%, said the same about now-President Joe Biden.

Gallup also conducted a similar poll in June 2008, following concerns that then-candidates Barack Obama and John McCain were linked to controversial religious leaders.

In that poll, 52% of respondents said they were very or somewhat concerned about Obama’s potential links to radicals — a higher share than the 49% who now say they are worried about Harris’ ties.

Forty-two percent of respondents said they were very or somewhat concerned about McCain’s potential ties.

This story was originally published October 25, 2024 at 12:12 PM with the headline "Are Americans more concerned with Harris or Trump ties to ‘radicals’? What poll found."