Half of potential voters think Hillary Clinton has given false information about her health to the public, according to a new Morning Consult poll released Wednesday.
The poll, taken on Sept. 12 and 13, shows widespread concern about Clinton’s health among registered voters, with 50 percent responding that the Democratic nominee has been dishonest about her health issues. Thirty-seven percent said the same for Donald Trump. Other figures from the survey show a negative trend for Clinton.
Opinions on the former secretary of state’s health have already begun to shift since last month. Today, a little more than two in 10 (22 percent) say Clinton’s health is above average or excellent, down from 29 percent from a late August national survey. Additionally, 41 percent now say it is below average or very poor, compared to only 26 percent who said that in August. A plurality, 28 percent, rank her health as average (compared with 30 percent last month).
After Clinton nearly collapsed on Sunday as she was leaving a 9/11 memorial ceremony in New York City, her health has become a central campaign issue. Clinton’s campaign released a statement over an hour after the incident Sunday saying that she was feeling overheated, but then later announced that she had been diagnosed with pneumonia two days earlier.
The Morning Consult survey showed that 50 percent of respondents said Clinton’s health would not affect their vote. Twenty-five percent of respondents, however, said that her health would make them less likely to vote for her.
Morning Consult previously reported that Clinton’s perception of being untrustworthy has hurt her popularity among voters.
For voters who have an unfavorable view of Hillary Clinton, their dislike can be boiled down to one word: trust. Almost half (47 percent) of voters who have an unfavorable view of Clinton don’t think she is trustworthy and almost four in 10 voters (39 percent) say she is corrupt.
As former first lady and secretary of state, Clinton has long been in the public eye and attacks by Republicans over the years have resonated with voters. Their most recent Clinton criticism has been focused on her use of a private email server while secretary of state and her refusal to release transcripts of paid speeches she gave to investment banks on Wall Street.
It’s little surprise that 50 percent of Republicans say she is untrustworthy, but that was also the top reason for 47 percent of independents and 39 percent of Democrats who have an unfavorable view of Clinton. Republicans and independents, at 45 percent and 39 percent, respectively, also believe she is corrupt, compared with 25 percent of Democrats.
While more respondents to the new survey believe Clinton has given false information on her health, voters believe both candidates need to be more transparent.
Seven in 10 voters (71 percent)–up 10 percent since August–said presidential candidates should be required to release a letter from their physician saying they are physically fit to serve, while 78 percent said they should be required to take similar action about their mental health.
Nearly seven in 10 voters (66 percent) said candidates should be required to release previous medical records.