9 out of 10 voters say there are important differences between Biden and Trump. Here’s what they see as the biggest ones

If there’s one thing that American voters overwhelmingly agree on, it’s that this year’s presidential election presents a stark choice. In the latest CNN poll by SSRS, 91% of registered voters say they see important differences between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, dwarfing even the 77% of voters who said last fall that there were significant divides between the Democratic and Republican parties. Even among the so-called “double haters” – those with unfavorable views of both Biden and Trump – only 20% say that the two candidates are pretty much the same.

If there’s one thing that American voters overwhelmingly agree on, it’s that this year’s presidential election presents a stark choice. In the latest CNN poll conducted by SSRS, 91% of registered voters say they see important differences between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, dwarfing even the 77% of voters who said last fall that there were significant divides between the Democratic and Republican parties. Even among the so-called “double haters” – those with unfavorable views of both Biden and Trump – only 20% say that the two candidates are pretty much the same. To get a broader image of how voters view the stakes of the election, CNN asked voters to name the single most important difference they saw between the two candidates. As the results highlight, the contrasts that most stick in voters’ minds are often not about policy issues at all. While some voters mentioned the topics that often top voters’ lists this year when asked to pick their most important issues – the economy, immigration or a commitment to democracy – others were more focused on character and personal traits, with honesty, ability to handle the job and perceived motivations among the traits most mentioned as distinguishing factors. Among those who saw significant differences between Biden and Trump, the most frequently mentioned distinctions were honesty and integrity (17%), ability to handle the job or mental fitness (15%), love for the country or patriotism (10%), perceived self-serving or egotistical motivations (10%) and effectiveness or performance in office (8%). Another 8% talked about protecting democracy or the Constitution, with 7% mentioning immigration and 6% the economy. Voters’ answers to the questions often spanned multiple topics, and a not insignificant share offered vaguer answers, with some simply noting that each candidate’s beliefs or policies were different. Backers of each candidate offered significantly different characterizations of the race.  Voters who supported Biden in a head-to-head matchup against Trump often cast the distinction in terms of character. Among those who saw significant differences between the candidates, 31% mentioned honesty or integrity, with about 18% citing self-serving or egotistical motivations, typically on Trump’s part, and 15% noting Trump’s criminal conviction or the other charges currently facing the former president. “Trump is a low down lying scoundrel who only cares about himself;  Biden, I think, really does care for the American people,” wrote one Biden supporter who responded to the poll, a South Carolina voter in her 70s. Another Biden supporter, a Florida voter in her 20s, wrote, “One is a convicted felon. If I would never date a felon why would I vote one for president[?]”