Poll shows voters increasingly trust Harris over Trump on economy despite being 'hurt' by Biden administration policies

Americans trust Kamala Harris over Donald Trump to manage the economy, even though most have a poor view of the economic policies of the Biden-Harris administration, according to a new August poll.

By a narrow margin, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris leads Republican nominee Donald Trump 42 percent to 41 percent, even though nearly half of respondents said the Biden the administration's policies have “hurt the economy,” seconds to a survey conducted by the Financial Times and the University of Michigan. Only about a quarter of voters surveyed believe the current administration has not hurt the economy, with nearly three-quarters stating a negative view of the current economy under President Joe Biden and Vice President Harris.

When asked to disregard overall views of the candidate and who they plan to vote for, 42 percent of voters said they had more confidence in Harris to handle the economy, up from 35 percent in July. According to the poll, Trump's numbers have remained relatively steady at around 41% since February, while Harris polled just 31% in the same month.

Voters still agreed that the economy would do better under a Trump presidency, with 42 percent saying they would be “better off” financially under Trump's economic policies compared to just 33 percent who said the same by Harris. More voters said they would be “worse off” if Harris won the presidency with 38 percent.

The percentage of people who said they would be better off under Trump fell from 45% in July after Biden announced his withdrawal of the presidential race, the poll shows.

Six in ten voters said Harris should change his approach to the economy from Biden's if he wins the election, with many saying inflation is the most needed change and many even answering “everything.”

Americans' confidence in the economy has been declining throughout the Biden-Harris administration, with growing fears of a recession after low employment growth and stubborn inflation plaguing the nation May polls found that 56% of Americans to believe the country is currently in recession.

The poll was conducted August 1-5 and included a sample of 1,001 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points.

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