US voters sceptical on Trump, Clinton presidency: Poll

Washington, Aug 19: Confidence in either US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump or his Democratic counterpart Hillary Clinton being a good president continues to remain low, as was the case earlier this year, according to a poll.

Just 27 per cent of registered voters think Trump would make a good or great president, while 55 per cent say the bellicose New York billionaire developer would be either poor or terrible president, a Pew Research Center poll said on Thursday, Xinhua news agency reported.

Opinions about Clinton are not as negative, but still only 31 per cent registered voters say Clinton would be a good or great president. As many as 45 per cent voters say Clinton would be a poor or terrible president.

Also, the poll found that large shares of voters worry that there is distinct possibility that if elected, either nominee would make a serious mistake that would damage the country, with 55 per cent registered voters saying that Trump has a "big chance" and 44 per cent saying the same about Clinton.

Meanwhile, supporters of Trump and Clinton diverge on how their life has become and where the country is heading for.

According to the national poll, Trump supporters overwhelmingly believe that life in the country is worse that it was half a century ago "for people like them," with 81 per cent holding such opinion, compared with only 11 per cent saying life has gone better.

The majority of Clinton's supporters take the opposite view, with 59 per cent of them saying that life for people like them "has gone better" over the past five decades. About one in five Clinton' s supporters think life has gotten worse and another 18 percent see little change.

As to the future generation's prospects, most Trump backers are pessimistic, with 68 per cent saying that life for their children will be worse than today.

Clinton's supporters hold mixed expectations, with 38 per cent being optimistic, compared with 30 per cent who say life for the next generation will be worse.

IANS