New poll shows whether Harris or Trump is leading in favorability rating

We just saw a new poll, this time from ABC News Ipsos and the Washington Post. Harris enjoying a wide favorability advantage over the former president. 46% see her favorably, compared to 43% unfavorably. Meanwhile, Trump is underwater by 25 points, 33% to 5558. Excuse me? The Washington Post writes this about the Trump campaign strategy, quote, with little chance of improving Trump's standing. Trump's adviser see the only option as damaging hers. Kristen, how are they planning to damage her more? Well, Alex, it's been really interesting to watch them try and damage her. Over the last several weeks, they have tried various different lines on her, attacking her, and none of them have really landed the way that they have wanted to. One of the things that you're going to see is a lot of linking her to President Joe Biden. One of the things we've reported time and time again is that they believe that their biggest chance to win in November is by essentially running the same campaign that they did against President Joe Biden, but making Harris the incumbent. So using events like today, they are showing Harris and Biden side by side and saying that Harris, his policies are the same as Joe Biden's policies, particularly when it comes to some of the more unpopular policies on inflation, on immigration. That's what they want to do. But whether or not that's actually landing has yet to be seen, it doesn't seem as though the American public is treating Harris as the incumbent that the Trump campaign would like them to do so. As we move forward, I will tell you, Alex, speaking to a number of his advisers earlier today, they do feel like they are in a better position now than they were a few weeks ago, when it felt as though Harris bounce was not going to end, and there was a lot of concern around the boost in her poll numbers, around the enthusiasm around Harris. Right now, they feel like this is starting to settle and they have a real race, but they are saying the same thing to their supporters that you're hearing Harris say to hers, which is we are the underdog. We really have to fight here. And I think it's clear both sides believe that this race is going to be determined by razor thin margins, and they are trying to find any votes that they can to secure. And that includes, for at least Donald Trump's team trying to siphon away some of those labor votes, some of those rank and file union members that Donald Trump, got back in 2016 that helped propel him to the white House. So you're going to see a lot of that trying to dig away at various voting blocs as they try to get as many votes as they can ahead of November. Frank Luntz the top line of that poll was that nationally, Harris has a small lead over Trump, who was 50 to 46. she did not get a post-convention bump in that poll. Are you surprised by that? And what do you say to to what Harris just said, that they believe they're the underdogs. I don't think that really matters. I think what matters are the two issues that the public says they prioritize in this election, which is affordability, not inflation, but affordability of food and fuel, housing and health care. And the idea that that's gotten worse over the last two years, not better. And immigration, which is basically an issue of personal security and safety and whether the border is controlled or not, she vice President Harris has a clear advantage in personality. If this is an election about who you trust, who you have confidence in, who you like, she wins. Clearly, if this is an election about policy, about where things have gone over the last three and a half years and where they're headed. Donald Trump has the advantage. The problem with the Trump campaign is that the candidate himself is actually undermining that message with personal attacks that voters don't like. The challenge with Harris is that she walks into a union hall and doesn't address the two issues that union people prioritize the most. I've done a fair amount of polling within the union community, and there was definitely a split. Government, unions and teachers unions absolutely support Harris by significant margins. But the trades, the people who work with their hands are evenly split between the Democrats and Republicans, where Republicans had never seen that before. She walked into ground zero. Everything she said was effective, but she missed the two issues that matter most. And in the end, at least in the debate, she's going to have to address them. It was a direct appeal to union voters and that base that Democrats very much so need to win in November. I think it was a couple of things. I, I think it was an explicit recognition that this is the last stretch of the Can campaign. So therefore, the Harris campaign really needs to step up their efforts in trying to get these voters to come home to them, come home to the vice president herself come November. I also think it was an implicit recognition that more needs to be done in those blue wall states. Obviously, earlier today, we saw her in Michigan. Governor Walz is in Wisconsin now. They're in, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, really trying to shore up that blue wall for their path to 70. I was talking to one adviser over the weekend, and they said, for the Harris campaign, all lives are going to be on Pennsylvania, particularly for these next two weeks, as we know that she was there today. Governor Wallace will be there in the next, few days. And then obviously the debate in Pennsylvania next week. But ultimately, I think that what this really was was just another chance to show, the voters who are in President Biden's backyard, who have been in President Biden's backyard for 40 years, that the vice president is somebody that they should win their support to. A real passing of the baton. I think that what was different from the last time that we saw them on the campaign trail was that, the president actually spoke before the vice president. So that was an important thing that I think that we're going to continue to see going on as they try to make that passing of the baton very, very clear to the American voters. Yeah, really emphasizing there that she is the top of the ticket. Now, Bill de Blasio, what we just saw to Jasmine's point, the chants of thank you, Joe. Throughout this rally, the tributes to Biden, these union heavy remarks by both of them, what does that tell you about how you think the president is going to be deployed by the Harris campaign? Well, Alex, I think first of all, Jasmine makes the exact right point. this campaign is not taking for granted the blue wall. And I'm really happy to see that, actually, because we've seen overconfident campaigns in the past. we're gonna need all the votes we can get in those states. the fact that they're so focused on labor in particular, this is an area where Democrats have lost a lot of support to Trump, let's be honest about that. And they're saying, I think Kamala Harris is saying the things to get people back in favor of the proact a strengthened the right to unionize, to make sure that union busting is met with real penalties. You know, she obviously saying U.S. steel needs to stay in America. These are really important messages for folks who might be tempted to support Donald Trump. So it helps get those folks back. I think Joe Biden is exactly where he needs to be. in the blue states, talking to labor, I wouldn't necessarily say use him anywhere. Everywhere. I think this is the perfect place, and he is someone who can actually help her get some of those votes back. Let me bring in CNN's Kayla. Tony, she is in Pittsburgh. She is at this rally. Kayla, this is a significant moment in this campaign. It comes a month and a half after President Biden dropped out of the race very quickly, endorsing his vice president, Kamala Harris. Now they're on the campaign trail together for the first time, with Harris at the top of the ticket. It's a it's definitely a turning point in this campaign, Alex. There's no question about it. The first time that President Biden is stumping with Harris wall signage behind him. And while aides say that he was excited to take the trail today and to make the case for his vice president, there was also some wistfulness in his remarks as he described the arc of a decades long career, which he described as being backed by organized labor every step of the way, starting from an endorsement from the Steelworkers when he was 29 years old. And then he went into some of the actions that he took as president during this past administration, crossing the picket line with auto workers, endorsing the American ownership of an iconic steel company here in Pittsburgh and also encouraging the electrical workers, union, where we are right now to invite more women into their union. That seemed to be a metaphor of sorts, where he transitioned into, making the case for Vice President Harris, essentially encouraging the union members here in the room to invite them, into their lives as well. And what's interesting is what we heard from Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, where he told the attendees here today that they need to talk to their colleagues and in particular, and encourage them to vote for Vice President Harris and Governor Walz, which is interesting considering that, many of these unions are conducting their own internal polling to see exactly, who their membership supports. Even as Vice President, Harris has secured the endorsements from the major leaders of these unions. But clearly, there is still quite a bit of work for them to do.