In a new Quinnipiac national poll of the Republican and Democratic presidential races, the candidates whom voters view as least honest and trustworthy are leading the pack. In fact, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump score almost equally on the issue.
When asked “Would you say that Hillary Clinton is honest and trustworthy or not?” 60 percent of voters nationally said she is not, versus 36 percent who said she is.
When asked “Would you say that Donald Trump is honest and trustworthy or not?” 59 percent of voters nationally said he is not, versus 35 percent who said he is.
If the two were to meet in a general election, voters would face a choice of candidates widely viewed as not honest and trustworthy.
The situation is a little different when only Democratic, or only Republican, voters are considered, but in both races, the perceived least honest candidate is still leading. Among Democrats, 73 percent said Clinton is honest and trustworthy, versus 23 percent who said she is not. (Just 11 percent of Democrats said Bernie Sanders is not honest and trustworthy.) Among Republicans, 58 percent said Trump is honest and trustworthy, versus 36 percent who said he is not. (Just 13 percent of Republicans said Ben Carson is not honest and trustworthy.)
On the other hand, the area in which Clinton and Trump dominate is the question of strength, and again their scores are almost identical. When asked “Would you say that Hillary Clinton has strong leadership qualities or not?” 60 percent of all voters said yes, versus 38 percent who said no. When asked “Would you say that Donald Trump has strong leadership qualities or not?” 58 percent of all voters said yes, versus 39 percent who said no.
Clinton and Trump lead their respective fields on the strength question, too.
Finally, both dominate among Democratic and Republican voters who say that strong leadership is the most important attribute for a president. And in a show of the power of the strength issue, both lead among voters in their party who say honesty and trustworthiness are the most important attribute for a president.
Opponents in and outside their respective parties have focused on honesty as an area to attack both Clinton and Trump. So far, it’s not working, in part because both are perceived as the strongest leaders in the race.
