Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders appear on stage just before a CNN-sponsored debate in Brooklyn in April. Photo / Melina Mara, The Washington Post
Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders appear on stage just before a CNN-sponsored debate in Brooklyn in April. Photo / Melina Mara, The Washington Post
It's common for presidential candidates to get a bump from their conventions, and two polls yesterday suggest Donald Trump did indeed get that.
The Republican presidential nominee posted a two-point lead over his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released today, the first time he has been ahead since early May.
The July 22-26 poll found that 39 per cent of likely voters supported Trump, 37 per cent supported Clinton and 24 per cent would vote for neither. The poll had a credibility interval of 4 percentage points, meaning that the two candidates should be considered about even in support.
But the new polls don't just show Trump's stock rising (however temporarily that may be); they also have some very bad news for Hillary Clinton and her already-declining personal image. Indeed, politically, she's doing as bad as she ever has - if not worse.
A caveat at the outset: The GOP convention was, as was to be expected, very anti-Clinton. There were chants of "lock her up" and plenty of accusations lodged against Clinton. So it's perhaps not surprising to see Clinton's numbers take a hit. But they have been steadily getting worse for months and are now basically worse than ever before.
Donald Trump has seen his stock rise since the Republican National Convention in Cleveland last week and is leading is several polls. Photo / AP
1) 68 per cent say Clinton isn't honest and trustworthy
That's according to the CNN poll, and it's her worst number on-record. It's also up from 65 per cent earlier this month and 59 per cent in May. The 30 per cent who see Clinton as honest and trustworthy is now well shy of the number who say the same of Trump: 43 per cent.
You heard that right: Trump - he of the many, many Pinocchios - now has a large lead on Clinton when it comes to honesty and trustworthiness.
The CBS poll, for what it's worth, has a similar number saying Clinton is dishonest: 67 per cent.
2) Her image has never been worse
CBS showed just 31 per cent have favorable views of Clinton and 56 per cent have unfavorable ones. Even in Trump's worst days on the campaign trail, he has rarely dipped below a 31 per cent favorable rating. Clinton has hit that number a few times, but her negative-25 net favorable rating here is tied for the worst of her campaign, according to Huffington Post Pollster.
In the CNN poll, the 39 per cent who say they have a favorable view of Clinton is lower than at any point in CNN's regular polling since April 1992 - when she wasn't even first lady yet. Of course, back then, the reason just 38 per cent of people liked her was because many were unfamiliar with her. At the time, 39 per cent were unfavorable and 23 per cent had no opinion.
Clinton's favorable rating in the CNN poll is currently 16 points net-negative. That's unprecedented in the dozens of CNN polls on her since 1992.
Gallup's new numbers on Monday - 38 per cent favorable and 57 per cent unfavorable - are also unprecedented over the course of Clinton's political career.
This also appears to be the first time ever that Clinton's image measures worse than Trump's. It does so in both polls.
Hillary Clinton's public image has been in steady decline over recent months. Photo / File
3) Just 38 per cent would be "proud" to have her as president
That's down from 55 per cent in March 2015. Sixty per cent say they would not be proud.
On this measure, she's basically on the same footing as Trump, whom 39 per cent would be proud of and 59 per cent wouldn't be.
4) Nearly half of Democratic primary voters still want Bernie Sanders
Clinton dispatched with Sanders and now has his endorsement, but despite 9 in 10 consistent Sanders supporters saying they'll vote Clinton in November, many of them still pine for their first love.
The CNN poll, in fact, shows 45 per cent of those who voted in Democratic primaries still say they wish it was Sanders. Just 49 per cent say they prefer Clinton - down from 55 per cent a month ago.
