Some voters explain why they are wavering on Harris and Trump

Beneath the surface of a close presidential race and the indecisive final NBC News national poll, the few voters who wavered in recent weeks illustrated the lesser of two evils I think that could decide the 2024 election.

Vice President Kamala Harris is an “empty vessel,” says one voter. Others worry that world leaders will not respect Harris because she is a woman. Another voter's concern: It's not clear what she stands for other than opposition to Trump.

But then there are voters who say former President Donald Trump lacks the character or behavior a president should have. He is “very rude” and “lies too much.” And some were particularly critical of the racist and demeaning rhetoric from Trump's allies at last week's rally at Madison Square Garden, criticizing them for alienating Americans rather than bringing them together.

That's according to responses from 24 respondents to NBC News' latest national poll conducted over the past few days. These are voters who said they seriously considered voting for Harris or Trump in the last two or three weeks before choosing the other option.

This is an extremely small share of the poll: only 2% of those who said they would vote for Harris said they had seriously considered Trump in recent weeks (and vice versa).

But the answers from these voters — who were given time to provide detailed answers in their own words — shed light on what ultimately goes into the analysis of voters who don't know who to support in an election could be decided with a narrow majorityS in key battleground states.

For those who considered Harris but ultimately supported Trump, many of their considerations centered either on the economy or frustration with the direction of the Biden administration. There were also concerns about Harris' gender or that she would be “weak” either in reality or in perception.

“I'm worried, I think that other countries won't take them seriously and that they would take Trump more seriously,” said a New Yorker in her mid-to-late 40s.

A Hispanic man in Missouri who is in his mid-to-late 20s offered a similar contrast.

“Donald Trump seems like a tyrant to me, but it's good to have a tyrant on your side, especially when he's proven that everything he does will lower inflation,” he said.

“Also, Kamala Harris seems to be a principled person, even if she comes across as a bit of a fool in her interviews,” the poll respondent continued. “She was in power with Biden and the world wasn’t going well.”

Other voters mockingly mentioned Harris' laugh, called Trump “more transparent about what he plans to do” and pointed to their support for Trump's economic policies such as tariffs and not taxing overtime pay.

For Harris supporters who briefly seriously considered Trump, the former president's tone and demeanor matter greatly.

“He's very rude and I just don't trust him. He lies too much for one thing,” said a 65-plus-year-old white woman from Wisconsin.

Two voters mentioned Trump's recent rally at Madison Square Garden, where a comedian addressed Trump called Puerto Rico “trash” and others made sexist and other inflammatory comments as something that turned them off.

A black Hispanic man in Pennsylvania falsely attributed the comment about Puerto Ricans to Trump and criticized Trump.

“I really didn’t like the rally in New York City where he called Puerto Ricans trash. I can’t vote for that,” said the man, who he said is an independent between the ages of 25 and 29, according to the poll response. “Your policies are good for seniors.”

With such a small group of voters still undecided after a long campaign, a constellation of issues, feelings or breaking news could have some influence on these people as they decide how to cast their vote.

The NBC News poll also asked about 400 respondents whether they had seen, read or heard anything about any of the candidates in recent weeks that gave them a more or less positive impression of them.

On Harris, 40% said they saw something that made them feel more positive about her, while 43% said something made them feel less positive, and 17% said either nothing made a difference or that they didn't see anything , which would have changed their minds .

Meanwhile, 33% said they saw something that caused them to view Trump more positively, while 46% said they saw something that caused them to view him less positively and 19% said nothing she moves something.

Again, a handful of voters brought up the rally comments about Puerto Ricans as voters described something that made them view Trump more negatively. It was specifically mentioned by 6 of the 34 people who responded to the open-ended portion of the question.

“That whole political rally thing with the comedian was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” said a Texas woman aged 60 to 64 who tends to support Harris. “I never had any respect for him and it is hard to forget that he incited an insurrection that led to the American people attacking the Capitol. This is just the beginning of the end for me.”

Asked what made them less positive about Harris in recent weeks, several voters pointed to her current role in the White House and her ties to President Joe Biden, while others said they didn't know enough about her plans.

“She has not distanced herself from Joe Biden. “It’s just following the path that Joe Biden has taken over the last four years,” said a middle-aged Florida man who leans toward Trump.

“I wish she cared more about what the country needs,” said a middle-aged woman from Idaho who said she would likely support a third-party candidate. “I think she focuses on the needs of women. I think she's attacking Trump. I feel like she doesn't get deeply involved in the issue like immigration. I feel like she says a lot of smart words, but I don't get an answer. “Like business, her vocabulary is really good, but I don't get an answer.”

And one voter, a woman between the ages of 30 and 34 in Louisiana, who is still undecided, sheds light on why she remains stuck.

“As for Kamala, I’m not really sure what she has done for the country so far. And as far as Donald Trump is concerned, he has done good things for the money,” she said.

But she added: “He promoted violence and racism in the country.”