US voters skeptical about either Trump or Clinton presidency

US President Barack Obama and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton appear onstage together after his speech on the third night at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, July 27, 2016. [Photo/VCG]

WASHINGTON - 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, a Pew Research Center poll said on Thursday.

Just 27 percent of registered voters think Trump would make a good or great president, while 55 percent say the bellicose New York billionaire developer would be either poor or terrible president.

Opinions about Clinton are not as negative, but still only 31 percent registered voters say Clinton would be a good or great president. As many as 45 percent 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 percent registered voters saying that Trump has a "big chance" and 44 percent 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 percent holding such opinion, compared with only 11 percent saying life has gone better.

The majority of Clinton's supporters take the opposite view, with 59 percent 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 percent saying that life for their children will be worse than today.

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