Harris vs. Trump: Latest presidential poll is another 5-alarm fire for Trump

After four years of political chaos, which included botching the pandemic and collapsing the economy, Donald Trump was one of the country’s most unpopular incumbent presidents when he lost his bid for reelection to Joe Biden in 2020.

Turns out, the nation might be shaking its case of Trumpnesia, which had baffled Democrats: The Republican presidential nominee is liked even less today.

A Washington Post/ABC/Ipsos poll, released Sunday morning revealed that Trump has a startling net favorability rating of minus-22 (35/57), while Democratic nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris has a net favorability rating of plus-1 (45/44).

Trump left office in January 2021 with a 38% favorability rating, according to FiveThirtyEight.com.

MORE: Harris vs. Trump: Who is winning in the swing states?

In addition, ABC’s poll shows that independent voters have moved from plus-4 for Trump to plus-11 for Harris — a tidal wave that has helped Harris to a 6-point national lead over Trump with likely voters.

As Democrats gather in Chicago for their national convention this week, Harris leads Trump, 49-45% among registered voters in a head-to-head matchup. When third-party candidates are included in the survey, Harris holds a 47-44% advantage, with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at 5 percent.

In early July, Trump stood at 43 percent, Biden at 42 percent and Kennedy at 9 percent.

Although pollsters caution that Harris’ leads remain within the margins of error for most polls, the campaign clearly has shifted since Biden left the race in July.

The Washington Post/ABC/Ipsos poll says the election remains tight, with seven swing states — Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada — are likely to determine who wins in the electoral college.

Other polls have indicated that Harris has gained ground in most if not all those swing states since Biden left the race, but they, too, show the race in most of those states as being within the range of a normal polling error.

A surge of enthusiasm has engulfed Democrats: 62 percent of Harris voters say they support her “strongly,” compared with 34 percent of those who supported Biden last month.

With his polling numbers sagging after a dismal debate performance, Biden bowed out of the race on July 21, immediately endorsing Harris — an unprecedented change this late in a presidential campaign. But the Democrats quickly consolidated around Harris, dramatically changing the election.

Democrats have a chance to build on the momentum with their convention in Chicago, followed by a Sept. 10 debate between Harris and Trump.

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