Fox News Poll: The Economy Will Decide Voters' Presidential Pick

More American voters trust Donald Trump to do a better job than Hillary Clinton on the issue most say will decide their vote this year:  the economy.  But, Clinton tops Trump in other key areas, including foreign policy -- and nuclear weapons.

That’s according to a new Fox News national poll on top issues in the 2016 election.

Relatively few voters, 26 percent, feel they’re better off now compared to before President Barack Obama took office.

So it should be no surprise about four voters in 10 -- Democrats and Republicans alike -- say the economy will be the issue that decides their vote for president (39 percent).

No other issue comes close.  Here’s how the others rank:  14 percent say national security will be most important in their vote, 10 percent each for education and health care, and 8 percent each for immigration and social issues such as abortion and gay marriage.

Voters trust Trump to do a better job on the top two.  He bests Clinton by 12 points on both the economy and terrorism.

The poll, released Thursday, was conducted prior to news of an EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo crashing in the Mediterranean Sea.

Meanwhile, Clinton has the edge on social issues (+12 points), education (+10), foreign policy (+10), health care (+3), and immigration (+2).

Trump is the candidate voters believe will do a better job “telling the truth to the American people” (+15 points), managing tax dollars (+14 points), and restoring trust in government (+8 points).

Trust of the candidates is about equal when it comes to using military force (Trump +1), nominating Supreme Court justices (Clinton +1), and “encouraging values you believe in” (Clinton +2).

Immigration is a signature issue for Trump, but more voters not only trust Clinton to handle it, but she is also picked by a 35-point margin on “representing the views of Latinos.”

Nearly one in five (17 percent) says agreeing on immigration issues is a deal-breaker for them when deciding their vote for president.  That increases to 29 percent among Hispanic/Latino voters.

But who would voters trust with the nuclear codes?  That’s Clinton, by 11 points (49-38 percent).

Pollpourri

From the beginning of his campaign, Trump has said he would build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.  People believe him.  By a 54-42 percent margin, voters think Trump “truly will” build the wall. By 50-44 percent, they believe he will forcibly deport illegal immigrants.

Those who plan to vote for Trump (66 percent) are more likely than Clinton supporters (46 percent) to think he’ll build the wall.  At the same time, Trump voters (43 percent) are less likely than those backing Clinton (60 percent) to think he’ll forcibly deport illegal immigrants.

Overall, voters are more likely than not to believe Trump will nominate a conservative to the Supreme Court (65-22 percent) and ban non-U.S. Muslims (58-37 percent).

The Fox News poll is based on landline and cellphone interviews with 1,021 randomly chosen registered voters nationwide and was conducted under the joint direction of Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R) from May 14-17, 2016.  The poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points for all registered voters.