Vice President Kamala Harris’s polling bounce and ensuing momentum after she became the anointed Democratic presidential nominee has already evaporated as former President Donald Trump stays strong, according to a major pollster.
In a post on X, Rasmussen Reports lead pollster Mark Mitchell said that Trump has weathered what he calls “the Obama bounce.”
Mitchel explained: “Now, what Trump has basically done is survive a coordinated ‘info op’ to try and paint Kamala Harris as super likable, super competent. A lot of coordinated media attention, a lot of coordinated attacks of Donald Trump and J. D. Vance.”
Mitchell said the polling showed Trump leading Harris, then Harris closing Trump’s lead over her from 16 points to six.
Rasmussen: President Trump Has Survived The “Obama Bounce” New Data Shows @Rasmussen_Poll pic.twitter.com/QcD1O2NUFO
— Jayne Zirkle (@JayneZirkle) August 1, 2024
“And if we had done a poll on the 24th and 25th, we actually would have showed Donald Trump losing slightly to Kamala Harris,” Mitchell said. “Now, that’s right about the time she got the Obama endorsement.
“But since then what you can see is Donald Trump has steadily clawed that lead back, and he’s up four points on the 30th — 5 points on the 31st. I think what you’re seeing there on the chart is literally her bounce fading and Donald Trump settling back into what’s probably a 4 to 5-point lead right now.”
“I think it’s all downhill for them from here on out,” he explained.
Is the polling showing Harris closing the gap with Trump reliable?
Mitchell added: “Of course, you know, she’ll get a lot of positive coverage during the DNC.”
“But to me, the headline is, Trump is winning comfortably, and before all this happened, in polls that had him winning comfortably, he was winning in every single swing state. So it’s Trump’s race right now,” he said.
🔥🚨BREAKING: This Black Georgia woman named Michaela is taking the internet by storm for putting Kamala Harris on blast at Trump’s rally in Atlanta.
“They don’t want to talk policy, they just want to use propaganda to steal your vote. The left is trying to tout this woman as… pic.twitter.com/4YYPy9xrSo
— Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narratives (@dom_lucre) August 3, 2024
The Real Clear Politics average of polls shows Trump with a 1.2 percentage point led over Harris but notes that of the 10 most recent polls, Trump won seven and Harris won three.
Trump has said he wants to debate Harris on Fox News on Sept. 4 before a live audience, according to Fox News.
Trump’s running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, said a free-wheeling debate will be bad for Harris because, “The thing that we’ve learned about Kamala … over the last four years, is she’s incredibly bad if she’s not scripted, right?”
He said having an audience is important.
Kamala Harris invited rappers and girls to twerk at her rally in Atlanta. Trump is in the same city, and he invited intelligent black women to talk about real issues
And you can bet your whole house that Trump won’t put on a fake black accent
This is a huge difference. pic.twitter.com/ERlB4yAYDJ
— George (@BehizyTweets) August 3, 2024
“You’re supposed to lead people, and to lead people you actually have to sort of like people and engage with them well,” Vance said.
“So, him having a crowd for this debate, I think, is really important because it will show his natural leadership ability. And it also shows, frankly, that people are kind of turned off by Kamala Harris. So, I think it’s good. Hopefully, it happens, and hopefully Kamala Harris agrees to it. If she doesn’t, then, clearly, she’s the one who’s afraid to debate,” Vance explained.
