https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/donald-trump-kamala-harris-enthusiasm-gap-poll-abortion-rcna171495

This time around, it's Trump who has the enthusiasm problem

Polling suggests Trump's views on abortion are boosting voter enthusiasm for Harris.

This is an adapted excerpt from the Sept. 16 episode of "Deadline: White House."

Since Donald Trump entered the political scene, he’s owned the enthusiasm gap. But, according to a new survey from renowned pollster Ann Selzer, that’s no longer the case. The Des Moines Register poll found that in Iowa, a state Trump won comfortably in both 2016 and 2020, 80% of Vice President Kamala Harris’ supporters say they are extremely or very enthusiastic about her as their choice for president. That’s compared to 74% of Trump’s supporters.

In 2016 and 2020, I don’t think it was that there was a lack of enthusiasm for Hillary Clinton or Joe Biden. But you had Trump burst onto the scene, giving the finger to the man, to the government, to the system, to the "swamp" — to whatever you want to call it. That kind of negative messaging created such a burst of enthusiasm among a bunch of folks who felt like nobody got them, that nobody was taking care of them. They wanted to give the finger to everybody in power, too.

But this time around, the burst of enthusiasm is on the Democratic side. People see Harris as positive and uplifting. She’s talking about the problems that matter to the American people.