Democrats trust Harris more than Biden on climate change despite big spending

A recent poll found that Democrats are more likely to trust Vice President Kamala Harris, Democratic presidential candidate, more than President Joe Biden on climate change.

The poll found that 85% of Democrats are likely to trust Harris on climate change, while only about three-quarters of Democrats say the same about Biden, according to the Associated Press. That gulf widens for younger Democrats, with 75% of those under 45 years old saying they trust Harris on climate change and only about 60% saying they trust Biden.

One voter quoted in the report, Aaron Hash, 43, who’s a Democrat and union worker, said Democrats are “still a little bit on the back foot” on key matters when compared to the Republican Party, but most respondents seemed happy with the change at the top of the ticket when it comes to the issues Democrats care about.

Another respondent, Alex Campbell, 29, said that even though there is “a lot of existential dread” among his generation about climate change and Harris isn’t likely to make significant change without the help of Congress, he is cautiously optimistic.

“Because she is younger, I think she will be more aggressive in her policy proposals,” Campbell said. “But at the end of the day, if there’s no House and Senate that are going to pass these bills, it doesn’t really matter.”

The Biden administration has spent big money on climate change, including $23 billion in “climate adaptation and resilience,” more than $10 billion investing in the development of alternative energy sources, and $95 million “to electrify tribal homes and transition tribal colleges and universities to renewable energy.”

The poll found that while 90% of Democrats feel climate change is real, about 60% of Democrats under 45 are “anxious” about climate change. The same poll found that only one-third of older respondents feel the same.

As far as what the government can do to combat climate change, about 80% of Democrats say the government is doing too little, while fewer, 60%, of Independents say the same. Only 30% of Republicans said the government is doing too little.

The poll surveyed 1,143 adults between July 25-29 and had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.