Is Trump or Harris better at giving speeches? What Americans said in a new poll

In recent weeks, the two major party presidential candidates have been criss-crossing the country, offering up their stump speeches to scores of voters.

Now, the reviews are in.

The latest YouGov poll asked Americans who they believe is better at public speaking, Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump.

A plurality of respondents, 41%, said Harris was better, while slightly less, 38%, said Trump showed more oratory prowess.

Seven percent said both were equal, and 15% said they were not sure, according to the poll, which was conducted on Aug. 9 and sampled 6,968 U.S. adults.

Responses were heavily skewed based on partisanship.

Seventy-nine percent of Democrats said Harris was better and the same number of Republicans said Trump was superior.

Independents narrowly favored Harris, with 35% saying she was more rhetorically equipped, compared to 31% who said the same for Trump.

Some interesting differences also emerged among racial lines.

White respondents sided with Harris and Trump by similar margins, 40% and 43%, respectively. But minority respondents favored Harris by significant amounts.

A majority of Black respondents, 53%, said Harris was the better speaker, compared to 21% who favored Trump. And among Hispanic respondents, 39% selected Harris, while 30% selected Trump.

The poll diverged widely from the results of a previous YouGov poll, conducted on July 19, two days before President Joe Biden withdrew from the race.

That poll — which sampled 4,348 U.S. adults — found almost half of respondents, 49%, said Trump was the better speaker, compared to Biden.

Meanwhile, just 23% of respondents — less than half of Trump’s share — said Biden was the better orator. Eight percent said both men were about equal, and 20% said they were not sure.

The partisan divide, while still present, was not as strong as in the latest poll, as Democrats showed weak support for Biden’s speaking abilities.

Just over half of Democrats, 51%, said Biden was the better speaker, while 17% said Trump was superior. Meanwhile, 87% of Republicans said Trump was the better orator, compared to just 3% who favored Biden.

Independents, too, were far more likely to favor Trump, with 47% siding with him compared to 16% who sided with Biden.

Additionally, white respondents overwhelmingly said Trump was a better speaker than Biden, 55% to 22%. Hispanics also did, with 45% selecting Trump compared to 21% who selected Biden.

Black respondents were closely divided. Thirty-two percent said Biden was the better rhetorician, while 28% said the same for Trump.

The latest poll also asked respondents how important it was for a candidate to be good at giving speeches in order to win the election.

A majority, 57%, said it was very important, while 33% said it was somewhat important.

Just 5% said good speeches were not very important or not important at all.

When asked how important good speeches were in order for presidents to do their job well, less than half, 48%, said it was very important.

Thirty-six percent said it was somewhat important, and 10% said it was not very important or not important at all.

This story was originally published August 9, 2024 at 3:43 PM with the headline "Is Trump or Harris better at giving speeches? What Americans said in a new poll."