Donald Trump’s impact on US Polls 2024: Navigating fake news, policy shifts, and voter sentiment

US Presidential candidate Donald Trump has found himself repeatedly under fire in recent weeks for peddling baseless rumours, changing his policy stances or even issuing questionable jibes against his rival. Weeks of ‘outlandish rhetoric’ have however failed to budge the poll needle. With a mere six weeks left until Election Day both Trump and Kamala Harris remain locked in an unusually close race — with neither candidate managing to secure an advantage of five points or more till date.

The ideological lines that have long defined the political priorities of each party are also likely to blur in the coming weeks as Trump and Harris seek to expand their support base. Both candidates have already displayed ideological deviation from their previous claims — be it abortion or gun control. 

The ‘closest US election in nearly a century’ may ultimately come down to how many disaffected suburban Republicans vote for Harris and how much of Democrats’ traditional base migrates to Trump.

Donald Trump is a twice-impeached, convicted felon who remains entangled in multiple legal cases. He has found himself mired in a torrent of scandals over the decades and currently finds himself at the center of yet another ‘controversy’ on an almost weekly basis. It is almost inconceivable that any other politician could have staged such a stunning comeback and remained within reach of the Oval Office for three consecutive times.

In September alone, Trump has falsely accused immigrants of eating their neighbours' pets, warned Jewish voters that they would be responsible if he lost the polls and blamed Kamala Harris and Democrats for ‘inviting’ or instigating two assassination attempts against him. He refused to openly condemn his protege and North Carolina Lt. Governor Mark Robinson who made headlines after describing himself as a ‘black Nazi’ on a pornographic website. Trump has also continued to peddle voter fraud allegations (for nearly five years now) and insists that the 2020 elections were ‘stolen’ from him.

“They're eating the cats!”
Members of the Republican party have repeatedly accused Haitian immigrants of eating the pets of people in Springfield since Trump first levelled the bizarre charge during the Presidential debate with Harris. Multiple fact-checks and a social media meme (and reel) fest mocking the claim (you might have seen Olympian Gabby Thomas and others dancing to "eating the dog, eating the cat" song) have however failed to dampen support for Trump. And in a darker reflection of the political strategy behind the comment, there has been a spate of threats against Haitians and local schools and government buildings in Springfield.

These incidents (and several others) however appears to have made only a minuscule dent in his support base – or left it unscathed. National polls have shown very little change in recent weeks, even as analysts and election experts brace for backlash from voters after each assertion from Trump.

Over the years Trump has managed to ‘transform’ the Republican party in his own image and built an unassailable support base. It is worth noting that the his party had overwhelmingly rejected candidates such as Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley during the primary race in favour of a third Trump nomination.

National polls have shown a slight improvement for Kamala Harris since the US Presidential debate on September 10. However the changes remain well within the margin of error with no clear leader in sight.

Multiple polls now suggest that suggest that anxiety over the economy, inflation and the cost of living are overpowering other concerns about Donald Trump. Both candidates have rushed to unveil new economic policies in recent days and at present it appears as though either candidate could carve out an edge in the final weeks.