By Burt Glass
Americans surveyed just before the presidential election held stronger negative emotions about Donald Trump than Kamala Harris, running counter to the results days later, according to the latest survey by Boston University’s College of Communication.
Nearly half of respondents said they would describe their feelings about Trump as “disgusted” (48%) or “repulsed” (45%). In contrast, about a third said they would describe their feelings about Harris as “disgusted” (34%) or “repulsed” (32%). The gap was similar when respondents considered other emotions such as anger and fear.
Neither candidate seemed to elicit enthusiasm among respondents. Only 40% felt enthusiastic, strongly other otherwise, about Harris, and 31% felt that way about Trump.
Yet four days after the survey was completed, Trump won nearly 50% of the popular vote compared to slightly more than 48% for Harris.
“In general, Americans were slightly more enthusiastic toward Harris and more angry, afraid, and disgusted by Trump,” said H. Denis Wu , a professor at Boston University’s College of Communication and author of the survey questions. “Partisan difference of emotions in candidate evaluations is predictable and self-clarifying.
“However, the emotions voters had right before the election did not necessarily align well with their party memberships, as some Democrats were angry and disgusted by Harris,” he added.