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Getty Poll: 'Dishonest,' 'socialist' top word lists for Clinton, Sanders

Hillary Clinton's image among all Americans is decidedly negative, while Bernie Sanders' is slightly more mixed, according to the results of a new Gallup poll released Tuesday.

When asked what comes to mind when they think of the former secretary of state, roughly one-in-five Americans — 21 percent — used the words "dishonest," "liar," "don't trust her" and "poor character." Another 9 percent said some variant of "dislike her," followed by 8 percent who said they "like her" and 7 percent who said she is "capable of being president" and "qualified." But an equal share of 7 percent called Clinton "criminal," "crooked" and said "she belongs in jail." The balance of the responses above 3 percent for Clinton reflect largely mixed public opinion, with 5 percent deeming her "experienced," and 3 percent each calling her a "good politician," "strong" and "wouldn't be good for this country." Overall, 51 percent of Americans expressed a net negative opinion of Clinton, while just 29 percent were positive and 6 percent were neutral.

The top response for Bernie Sanders, who has long professed to be a democratic socialist: "socialist" (12 percent). Responses for Sanders were not as unified in one direction as they were with his opponent, with 6 percent calling the 74-year-old Vermont senator "older" or "aged." Another 5 percent used the word "favorable," while yet another 5 percent called him a "fresh face," using the words "new ideas" and "change for the better."

Still, Americans had some fairly negative things to say about him as well — 4 percent used the words "crazy," "delusional," "idiot" or "unrealistic," while another 4 percent used the word "unfavorable."

Sanders' largely split public image is also reflected in 3 percent of those who said they liked him and other equal share of people who called him a "communist," a frequent refrain of Republican front-runner Donald Trump. Overall, 20 percent of Americans expressed a net negative opinion of Sanders, while 26 percent were positive and 32 percent were neutral.

Gallup conducted the telephone poll between Feb. 13-14, surveying 1,014 adults nationwide with an overall margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.