News
Undecided Voters Tell Us About Their Biggest Worries
We asked voters who have not yet made up their minds — 830 of them across five battleground states and Ohio — to name their biggest worries with both candidates.
Here is what they said.
Concern about Trump
“He’s made people comfortable with being racist and set the country back 50 years with racism.”
Concern about Harris “She’s a liar and it feels like she hasn’t done anything she said she was going to do.”
Black woman, 50s, Arizona
Concern about Trump
“Don’t like his rhetoric, how he speaks to people.”
Concern about Harris
“Incompetent, no experience in foreign policy or running the government; also has no opinions except on abortion.” White woman, 70s, Wisconsin
Concern about Trump
“Too extreme.”
Concern about Harris
“I don’t know much about her, but I’m unsure about how prepared she is to be president.”
Hispanic man, 30s, Arizona Concern about Trump
“Having the right to control my own body.”
Concern about Harris
“Immigration and inflation.”
Black woman, 20s, Georgia
Concern about Trump
“Arrogance.” Concern about Harris
“She’s a woman and not sure if a woman should be running.”
White woman, 50s, Arizona
Concern about Trump
“Has felonies on his record.”
Concern about Harris “Don’t know much about her policy.”
Black man, 50s, Georgia
Concern about Trump
“I don’t trust him.”
Concern about Harris
“I don’t trust her.” Black woman, 60s, Georgia
Donald J. Trump and Kamala Harris are starkly different presidential candidates. So why are so many voters — roughly 1 in 6 — still unsure of their choice?
Until President Joe Biden dropped his bid for re-election, a large share of voters were unhappy with their choices for president.
Today, the electorate as a whole is happier, but the uncommitted voters are still not, according to recent polling by The New York Times and Siena College in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin.
They trust neither former President Donald J. Trump nor Vice President Kamala Harris. They question the candidates’ honesty and ethics.
Based on New York Times/Siena College polls of 4,132 likely voters conducted in September, including 830 undecided or not fully decided voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin.
Respondents who said they didn’t know or who declined to say are not included.
These voters are younger than the electorate overall, less educated and have a lower income. They are much more likely than voters overall to be Black or Latino, and a little more likely to be men.
Some of these voters may just stay home, but a meaningful portion of them will probably vote. And in a close election, they could be the deciding factor.
In trying to understand what is holding them back from committing, we asked voters to tell us in their own words about their worries. Their phrases were telling: “being a bully,” “she’s an idiot.”
In many ways, their words suggest that voters know, and perhaps have become inured to, Donald Trump’s slash-and-burn campaign style and personality.
But with Kamala Harris, who was plunged into the race only in July, their fears are wider ranging — encompassing both character and the issues, like the economy. And for some voters, the historic nature of her candidacy presents not progress but a drawback.
Voters are concerned about one thing when it comes to Trump: his character.
They said he is arrogant or erratic and talks too much. They talked about his age or criminal trials. The words boiled down to concerns about the former president’s personality and honesty.
Even voters who said they were leaning toward Trump mentioned concerns about chaos and dysfunction.
A small but notable share were also concerned, specifically, about his ability to carry out and complete the tasks of president, mentioning his age and mental capacity.
Concern about Trump
“Angered easily.”
White man, 40s, Michigan Concern about Trump
“Being a bully towards other nations.”
White man, 60s, Georgia
Concern about Trump
“He is erratic, not very well-spoken and lies.”
White man, 40s, North Carolina
Concern about Trump
“Him staying off the internet.”
White man, 30s, Arizona
Concern about Trump
“Being presidential, sense of decorum, way he communicates.” Man, 60s, Michigan
Concern about Trump
“Does not know when to shut up.”
White man, 20s, North Carolina Concern about Trump
“His age.”
White woman, 20s, Wisconsin
At the same time, even though Trump has crossed all kinds of red lines during his campaign, voters used comparatively mild language in describing their doubts about him. Words like “a bit” and “a little” crept in frequently.
Concern about Trump
“Little power hungry.” White woman, 30s, Arizona
Concern about Trump
“His authoritative tendencies.”
White man, 30s, North Carolina Concern about Trump
“Probably his rhetoric, maybe, and how he presents himself. And the debate was kind of rough.”
Woman, 40s, Michigan
Concern about Trump
“Bit decisive at times. He doesn’t always say the right things.”
White man, 20s, Georgia
Concern about Trump
“I wish he could be a little more presidential.”
White woman, 70s, Arizona
Concern about Trump
“He might become too emotional when making decisions.” Nonwhite man, 30s, North Carolina
Concerns about Harris are more varied.
For Kamala Harris, voters’ anxieties were broader and more complicated. Although qualms about her personality came up less often than with Trump, trustworthiness and honesty were still big question marks for many voters.
So was her ability to handle the economy. Voters specifically mentioned costs and inflation, a persistent concern among undecided and not fully decided voters over the last few months.
-
Concern about Harris
“She will make the economy worse than it is.”
Black man, 20s, Georgia
-
Concern about Harris
“That she’s like every other politician, that she is not going to actually do anything to help us.”
Black woman, 30s, Ohio
-
Concern about Harris
“Bring down the price of groceries and housing.”
Black woman, 60s, Georgia
-
Concern about Harris
“How she would handle the economy.”
Hispanic woman, 20s, Georgia
-
Concern about Harris
“Too liberal.”
Black woman, 50s, Michigan
-
Concern about Harris
“Not following through.”
White woman, 30s, Wisconsin
-
Concern about Harris
“The people didn’t vote for her; she was appointed. That is not democracy.”
White man, 60s, Wisconsin
-
Concern about Harris
“Democrats take the African American vote for granted. Not sure her policies are going to benefit African Americans.”
Black man, 30s, North Carolina
They also questioned her abilities and wondered if she was ready for the job. Some voters described her with caustic language, which echoes Trump’s, who called her “mentally disabled” and “mentally impaired.”
Harris has not leaned into the historical nature of her candidacy — she would be the first woman of color to be president. For some of these voters, her background may be a challenge. Some voters used language that was outright sexist.
Concern about Harris
“That she’s not intelligent enough to be president. I think she is an idiot.”
White man, 70s, Arizona Concern about Harris
“I don’t think she’s got it all together.”
White woman, 70s, Arizona
Concern about Harris
“Overall untrustworthy.”
Black man, 40s, North Carolina
Concern about Harris
“I don’t know much about her, but I’m unsure about how prepared she is to be president.” Hispanic man, 30s, Arizona
Concern about Harris
“She’s a woman. I’m not sure she can get the job done. People probably won’t listen to her.”
White woman, 50s, Ohio
Concern about Harris
“She’s a lady.”
Black woman, 60s, Wisconsin Sources and methodology
Selected responses from New York Times/Siena College polls of 4,132 likely voters conducted in September, including 830 undecided or not fully decided voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin.
Undecided and persuadable voters were voters in the survey who either did not pick a presidential candidate after being asked multiple questions about their vote choice or voters who ultimately did pick a candidate but said they were only “probably” but not “definitely” going to support that candidate.
Open-ended responses to the “biggest concern” question were coded into categories using a trained coder and validated with a second reviewer. The primary coder reviewed a sampling of responses and then created an initial coding schema. Categories were adjusted based on size and coherence throughout the process. Where there was disagreement between coders, proposed codes were reviewed, discussed and compared with similar examples in other surveys. To help ensure consistency, responses that exactly matched previous responses in prior surveys were automatically coded to the same category, but were still reviewed for accuracy.
News
Iran acknowledges mass protest deaths, but claims situation under control as Trump mulls response
Iran’s theocratic rulers are under the most intense pressure they’ve felt in years, as President Trump leaves the option of a U.S. military intervention on the table in the face of a fast-mounting death toll amid more than two weeks of anti-government protests across the Islamic Republic.
Mr. Trump said Sunday that Iranian officials had called him looking “to negotiate” after his repeated threats to intervene if authorities kill protesters. In an unusual move, meanwhile, Iran‘s state-controlled media aired video on Sunday showing mass casualties in and outside a morgue in a Tehran suburb.
The video shared widely online shows dozens of bodies outside the morgue, which CBS News has geolocated to the southern Tehran suburb of Kahrizak. The bodies were wrapped in black bags, and people can be seen grieving and searching for their loved ones at the site.
The state TV reporter says in the clip that some of those seen dead may have been involved in violence, but that “the majority of them are ordinary people, and their families are ordinary people as well.”
Video posted by social media users on Sunday showed scenes from the same morgue, and people could be heard wailing in the background as others appeared to be looking for loved ones amid the bodies.
It is unclear why Iranian authorities might have chosen to show the mass casualties, but it could be an attempt to show sympathy with the protesters and to bolster their narrative that it is more radical actors, inspired by Mr. Trump’s messages of support, behind the violence, not the government.
President Trump and Iranian officials have escalated their warnings over the past week, with both sides insisting they’re ready for, but not seeking a military confrontation.
On Sunday, however, Mr. Trump said Iran’s leadership had called looking to talk.
Trump issues fresh warning, says Iran seeking negotiations
“The leaders of Iran called” yesterday, he told reporters Sunday on Air Force One, saying “a meeting is being set up … They want to negotiate.”
“We may have to act before a meeting,” Mr. Trump warned. He first warned 10 days ago that if Iran killed protesters, the U.S. would “come to their rescue,” but he’s yet to say what exactly would prompt some action against the regime, or what that might entail.
A senior U.S. official confirmed to CBS News on Sunday that the president had been briefed on new options for military strikes in Iran, after Mr. Trump warned that if the regime started “killing people like they have in the past, we would get involved.”
“We’ll be hitting them very hard where it hurts,” he said at the White House. “And that doesn’t mean boots on the ground, but it means hitting them very, very hard where it hurts.”
The U.S. has not yet moved any forces in preparation for potential strikes on Iran, officials with the military’s Central Command told CBS News over the weekend.
Iran’s top diplomat claims protests “under total control”
Iran did not confirm any direct outreach to the Trump administration, but speaking on Monday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi suggested the regime had brought the protests under control – repeating the government’s claim that the U.S. was to blame for the violence.
The “situation is now under total control,” Araghchi said, according to the Reuters news agency, as Iranian state TV aired video of massive pro-government demonstrations around the country.
Government-controlled broadcaster IRIB called one demonstration and funeral march an “Iranian uprising against American-Zionist terrorism.”
In the face of Mr. Trump’s repeated threats, Araghchi said Iran was “ready for war, but also for dialogue” with the U.S. at any time.
In another indication that the regime may believe it is weathering the storm, the foreign minister said internet service would be resumed in coordination with Iran’s security services, though he offered no specific timeline.
Rights groups say death toll from protests could be in the thousands
According to human rights groups based outside the country, which rely on contacts inside Iran, the death toll has already climbed into the hundreds.
The Washington D.C.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said that, as of Sunday, the 15th day of protests, at least 544 people had been killed, including 483 protesters and 47 members of the security forces. HRANA said the unrest had manifested in 186 cities across all of Iran’s 31 provinces.
The Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI), which is also based in the U.S., said over the weekend that it had “eyewitness accounts and credible reports indicating that hundreds of protesters have been killed across Iran during the current internet shutdown,” accusing the regime of carrying out “a massacre.”
The Iran Human Rights (IHR) organization, based in Norway, said Saturday that it had confirmed at least 192 protesters were killed, but that the number could be over 2,000.
“Unverified reports indicate that at least several hundreds, and according to some sources, more than 2,000 people may have been killed,” IHR said in a statement, adding that according to its estimate, more than 2,600 protesters had been arrested.
HRANA estimates that over 10,000 people have been detained.
new video loaded: What Our Photographer Saw in Minneapolis
By David Guttenfelder, Coleman Lowndes and Nikolay Nikolov
January 12, 2026
Good morning. You’re reading the Up First newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day.
Today’s top stories
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is deploying more federal agents to Minnesota. The move comes as nationwide protests continued yesterday after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis last week. Some elected officials, including U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, are pushing back against DHS actions to bring in more agents and demanding a full investigation into Good’s killing. U.S. representatives have typically been allowed to visit ICE detention facilities unannounced, but Homeland Security now requires elected officials to provide a seven-day notice to enter.
A person in an inflatable frog suit holds a sign during a protest in Los Angeles on Jan.10 against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis.
Etienne Laurent/AFP via Getty Images
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Etienne Laurent/AFP via Getty Images
- 🎧 Tensions are high in Minneapolis, NPR’s Jason DeRose tells Up First. The community can hear sirens and helicopters throughout the day and night, leaving people on edge. Though there is a lot of fear in the area, people are caring for their neighbors. Several hundred people gathered at a church near where the shooting took place last week and marched a mile loop to offer comfort. Along the route, they sang and held moments of silence at areas where ICE agents recently detained residents. DeRose says he will pay attention to what the additional agents are actually doing on the ground and how community members who oppose ICE’s presence will respond in the coming days.
President Trump says he is not ruling out strikes on Iran despite saying Tehran asked to negotiate with the U.S. Iran has seen significant protests for several weeks in the biggest challenge to the theocratic regime in years. In response, the Iranian government has cracked down hard. Around 500 protesters have been killed, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.
- 🎧 The regime’s knowledge of the U.S.’ capability to damage missile facilities and hit political targets may have led to the Iranians’ request for talks with the Trump administration, Nader Habibi, who focuses on Middle East economics, tells NPR’s Jackie Northam. Iran said it would consider U.S. military bases and ships as targets for preemptive strikes if the U.S. looked like it would strike. Currently, Iran’s regime is vulnerable because its 12-day war with Israel last summer resulted in the deaths of many of the government’s senior leadership and weakened its military capabilities
The Trump administration is escalating its pressure campaign on the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell confirmed that the Justice Department subpoenaed the central bank last week, seeking information about testimony that Powell gave to the Senate Banking Committee in June 2025.
- 🎧 At that time, lawmakers grilled Powell over the Fed headquarters’ makeover costs, which ballooned from $1.9 billion to $2.5 billion. However, in an unusually combative video yesterday, Powell argued that the DOJ investigation is more than just about project spending. The president has said he wants lower interest rates and has threatened to fire Powell in the past, NPR’s Scott Horsley says. However, the Fed was designed to be insulated from political pressure so that policymakers can do what they think is best for the economy long term.
U.S. figure skating is poised to send what some in the sport are calling its most dominant team in years to the Winter Olympics. Sixteen skaters will represent Team USA across all four disciplines: men’s, women’s, pairs, and ice dance. Meet the world champions, seasoned veterans, and rising stars who secured their spots on the roster.
- 📷 NPR’s Brian Munoz attended the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. He left with a newfound love for the sport. See his photos of the athletes fiercely competing for a spot on the team.
Living better
Living Better is a special series about what it takes to stay healthy in America.
Conversations about women’s health, including topics like breast cancer and menopause, have become more mainstream. But the cultural shift comes with a catch: Information can be oversimplified and sometimes outright wrong. As people focus on their New Year’s health goals, doctors debunk some myths people should be aware of.
- 🩺 Annual mammograms are critical, but you need more to prevent breast cancer. Understand your lifetime risk to see if you need tailored screening.
- 🩺 Strength training doesn’t trump cardio, especially in midlife. Aerobic exercise is still critical.
- 🩺 Women cannot maximize workouts based on their menstrual cycle. No good data shows significant changes in strength, endurance, or recovery across the menstrual cycle phases.
Picture show
Ariana Grande arrives at the 83rd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Jordan Strauss/Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP/AP
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Jordan Strauss/Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP/AP
Ariana Grande, Noah Wyle, Teyana Taylor and George Clooney were just some of the big names in TV and film who walked the red carpet last night before the 83rd annual Golden Globes in Beverly Hills, Calif. Among the stars were Morning Edition‘s own Michel Martin, Steve Inskeep, Leila Fadel and A Martínez. Take a look at all the dazzling looks.
➡️ Didn’t watch the award show? Don’t fret, these are all the winners of the Golden Globes.
3 things to know before you go
A photograph of President Trump and a short plaque next to it are on display at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery’s “American Presidents” exhibit on Sunday.
Rod Lamkey/AP
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Rod Lamkey/AP
- The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., removed mentions of Trump’s two impeachments and information about his presidency from the wall text next to his new portrait.
- The Washington National Opera is leaving the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, its home since 1971, in response to new policies that strain its financial model.
- Bob Weir has died at 78. He was a founding member of the influential rock band the Grateful Dead.
This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.
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