With harsh rhetoric as the brand image of the 2016 US presidential election, an overwhelming majority of voters have said that this year’s race has brought out the worst in people, according to a new poll.

The new Monmouth University poll showed 70 per cent of registered voters believed that the matchup between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump has brought out the worst in people, with only 4 per cent thinking otherwise, Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.

While almost two in three voters said harsh language used in US politics was unjustified, nearly half of Trump’s supporters said the harsh language adopted by their candidate’s campaign was justified, the poll found, compared to only 17 per cent of Clinton supporters and 21 per cent of those either undecided or are supporting a third party candidate.

“Half of Trump supporters seem to be saying let the expletives fly, but many voters blame both sides equally for the negative tone of this year’s campaign,” said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute.

Apart from half of voters who put the blame equally on both sides, 37 per cent others said more of the harsh language was coming from Trump campaign.

Meanwhile, the poll found that the bombastic tone of this year’s election has also taken its toll on friendship, with 7 per cent of voters saying that they have lost or ended a friendship due to this year’s race.