Every single hand goes up for President Trump in post-debate focus group of undecided voters on who would be better for economy
Pollster Frank Luntz put together a virtual focus group of undecided voters from swing states Thursday night to get their impressions of the second and final debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
The economy question
In an eye-opening moment near the end of the session, Luntz asked the 13 focus group participants the following question, "Who do you believe would do a better job with the economy after listening to tonight's debate, Joe Biden or Donald Trump?"
Luntz wanted a show of hands for each candidate — and when he asked who thought Biden would be better for the economy, not one hand went up.
When he asked if Trump would do a better job with the economy, every single hand went up.
"Clearly by that Trump is the preferred candidate," Luntz said in response.
Individual responses
Luntz then turned to the focus group participants to get their individual reasons for preferring Trump over Biden.
Jennifer from Michigan said Trump "has knowledge and a skill set to actually bring us ahead. I think that prior to COVID ... the first three years of his presidency, he was doing great. And then COVID happened, and our economy has obviously gone into the tanker ... and if there's somebody who's going to get us out, I believe it's going to be him."
Elizabeth from Georgia said that before the coronavirus pandemic, the economy was "better than it has been before. Our 401Ks have grown like crazy, and even in this pandemic look at the stock market — it's crazy. Everybody had jobs ... and here in Georgia, everybody can still have a job. Everywhere I go there's 'help wanted' signs, everywhere."
Tasha from Ohio said that navigating the economy "will take a special skill set" and that Trump "has shown us that he can recover in many different areas."
Opinion: Undecided voters assess final Trump-Biden debateyoutu.be
Anything else?
A tweet from Luntz offered some words from focus group members to describe Trump and Biden based on their debate performance:
My focus group’s words to describe Trump tonight:• “Controlled”• “Reserved”• “Poised”• “Con artist”• “Surprisi… https://t.co/tcS1sGgUha— Frank Luntz (@Frank Luntz)1603423526.0
According to the Los Angeles Times, Luntz selected participants only if they met the following criteria: Currently registered to vote in one of 11 swing states; self-described as "possible" Biden or Trump voters; self-defined independents; and consider themselves "undecided." Participants were compensated $100 each for their time, the paper said.
The Times also said that, along with Luntz, it asked Sewell Chan, its editorial page editor, to pose questions to the focus group and provide analysis. He was pictured on the bottom of the screen next to Luntz.
Verdict from Luntz?
Luntz told Bloomberg Politics the debate was a tie — which he said bodes well for Biden:
.@FrankLuntz on tonight's debate between Trump and Biden: "The net of all this is essentially a tie... and that's v… https://t.co/hbJ9zcgUx1— Bloomberg Politics (@Bloomberg Politics)1603421433.0
Undecided voters say Pence won, Harris was 'abrasive and condescending'
Undecided voters thought Vice President Mike Pence was the clear winner of Wednesday night's debate, according to a focus group conducted by political analyst Frank Luntz.
Luntz, speaking in media interviews after the debate, said his focus group of 15 undecided voters from eight battleground states found Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris to be "abrasive and condescending."
"The complaint about Kamala Harris was that she was abrasive and condescending," Luntz told Fox News. "The complaint about Mike Pence was that he was too tired, but vice presidential or presidential."
"If this is a battle over style and substance, which is often the case with undecided voters because they simply do not choose on policy — they also choose on persona — this was Mike Pence's night," Luntz added.
"I want to emphasize, it's not that Pence did so well, because they felt that both candidates were not answering the questions as well as they would've liked, they thought that Kamala made a greater effort to take down Donald Trump and the Trump/Pence administration, whereas Mike Pence did a better job in explaining what the Trump/Pence administration had done," he said.
Luntz also said his focus group was more upset with Harris' "smiling," "smirking," and "scowling" than Pence going over his time limit.
While he doesn't think the debate by itself will change many undecided voters' minds, Luntz did note that his focus group thought this debate was much better than President Donald Trump's debate with former Vice President Joe Biden, which they characterized as embarrassing.
"The tone and demeanor of the discussion last night was exactly what the American people want," Luntz told CNBC Thursday.
Republican pollster on what undecided voters thought about the vice presidential debatewww.youtube.com
On substance, Luntz's focus group thought both candidates spent too much time arguing over the Trump administration's record and not enough time talking about their plans for the future.
"The number one question from them is what's going to happen with the Supreme Court, will Joe Biden try to pack the Supreme Court?" Luntz asked. "Mike Pence did an outstanding job making that an issue yesterday and that is resonating in the minds of the American people today."
On the economy, the focus group said they did not hear a plan from either candidate on how jobs lost during the coronavirus pandemic will return.
"Voters aren't looking backwards, they're looking ahead. We know what happened over the last four years. Now tell me what's going to happen over the next four weeks, four months, four years," Luntz said.
You can watch an abridged version of Luntz's focus group here:
Frank Luntz focus group with undecided voters after 2020 VP debatewww.youtube.com
(H/T: Washington Examiner)
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