POLL: American voters trust Donald Trump more than Kamala Harris on firearms issues

09/03/2024 / By Laura Harris

A recent Fox News poll reveals that more American voters trust former President Donald Trump to handle gun issues than his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.

The poll, conducted from Aug. 9 to Aug. 12 among 1,105 registered voters nationwide, shows Trump leading Harris on gun policy, with 50 percent of registered voters favoring Trump and 47 percent favoring Harris.

The survey, which used a combination of Democratic pollster Beacon Research and Republican pollster Shaw & Company Research, also highlights a significant gender gap in trust in gun policy. Trump enjoys a 15-point advantage among men, while women favor Harris by a margin of 52 percent to 43 percent.

Among Black voters, Harris leads significantly (68 percent to 29 percent), while White (52 percent to 44 percent) and Hispanic voters (50 percent to 46 percent) lean toward Trump. Voters aged 65 and older prefer Harris by five percentage points, while younger voters under the age of 45 tend to support Trump on gun issues.

Harris, who has distanced herself from her earlier support for a mandatory buyback of AR-15s, has consistently focused on her gun control priorities throughout her campaign. If elected president, Harris said she intends to use executive action to enforce universal background checks if Congress fails to pass gun control measures within the first 100 days of her presidency.

The Democratic presidential nominee, alongside her running mate Tim Walz, also called for the prohibition of AR-15s and other firearms that Democrats have classified as “assault weapons” in a joint campaign appearance in Philadelphia. The pair emphasized the need for stricter gun control to prevent mass shootings and reduce gun violence in the United States.

But then, the findings suggest that gun policy may be a relative strength for Trump even though he has not stressed gun policy in his campaign. In an August press conference, he briefly mentioned the issue, stating that an attempt on his life had not changed his opposition to banning AR-15s. But did not mention anything other than that.

Moreover, the 2024 GOP Platform document removed the previous Second Amendment commitments of the party, while Trump did not address the topic during his record-long nomination acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention that same month.

Overall, the results represent a slight gain for Trump since the previous Fox News poll in July, which showed a two-point advantage for Trump over President Joe Biden on the same issue.

Trump leads Harris on the most important issues voters consider in deciding their vote

The poll also indicates that guns are not a top priority for most voters heading into November.

According to the results, only three percent of respondents cited gun policy as the most important issue in deciding their vote, a decrease from 11 percent a year ago. The economy (38 percent), immigration (14 percent) and abortion (14 percent) are the most prioritized issues.

These have been evident in other polls in the previous months.

For instance, in a Center Square Voters’ Voice and Noble Predictive Insights poll, which surveyed 2,510 voters on March 11 to 15, likely voters have identified inflation and price increases (45 percent), illegal immigration (44 percent) and the economy/jobs (24 percent) as the key issues guiding their decisions at the ballot box.

Similarly, a February Gallup poll showed that 28 percent of Americans, viewed immigration as the most important issue. Government-related issues are next (20 percent), followed by the economy (12 percent) and inflation (11 percent). (Related: POLL: Inflation and immigration rank as top concerns for voters as Biden and Trump gear up for 2024 rematch.)

A separate poll from the Harvard University Center for American Political Studies indicates similar trends. In January, 35 percent of respondents identified immigration as their top concern for the upcoming election, followed by inflation (32 percent) and economy (25 percent). Other issues like crime, drugs and healthcare received 16 percent each, while the deficit, national security, corruption and the environment were each considered the main concern by fewer respondents (13-14 percent).

The Fox News poll reveals that Trump leads Harris on most of these issues, including border security (58 percent to 39 percent), immigration (56 percent to 42 percent), foreign policy (52 percent to 45 percent), the economy (52 percent to 46 percent) and crime (51 percent to 46 percent).

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