‘I Felt I Heard That Change’: Undecided Voters Reveal How They Grade Trump’s RNC Speech
‘Maybe I would be proud to have him as a leader’
Focus group of undecided voters gets brutally honest about Biden and the economy: 'Gaslighting literally everyone'
In all likelihood, undecided voters will decide the outcome of the 2024 election. And if you're President Joe Biden, that's probably not a good thing.
On Wednesday, MSNBC highlighted a recent focus group of undecided voters from Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, three battleground states that pave the path to the White House. Biden won those states in 2020, but Donald Trump won them in 2016.
The voters applauded Biden for his policies on abortion, student loans, climate, and his attitude toward "disenfranchised" people.
But on the issues that voters say matter most — the economy, inflation, immigration, and the border crisis — they all agreed that Trump is the better choice. In fact, all participants agreed that Trump's economic policies are better for them and their family.
"I think he’s been absolutely disastrous for the economy," one voter said of Biden.
"I feel like he doesn't even take accountability for, at all, with what's going on in the economy, and not even accountability — he's in denial that it’s happening," another voter said.
"Biden needs to hear the people because when he's talking about the economy doing stellar, he's talking about the stock market. He's not looking at homelessness or joblessness. He's not thinking about how much it costs to go to the grocery store," said another voter, who supported Biden in 2020. "He's gaslighting literally everyone in the process."
— (@)
In 1992, Democratic strategist James Carville offered Americans a novel political theory: "It's the economy, stupid!" Time and time again, Carville's famous quip has proved true.
The undecided voters in the focus group believe Trump is a "bully" or "mean" or that he is divisive. But they like his economy policies, and if Americans vote with their pocketbook, the former president is sitting pretty less than seven months before voters head to the ballot box.
Unfortunately for Biden, the focus group is not an anomaly.
For months, polls have shown that voters trust Trump on the issues they care about most, while they trust Biden on issues they don't really vote on: abortion, climate change, voting rights.
The media are trying to help Biden — publishing countless stories painting the economy as better than they think — but if Americans are in tune with anything, it's their bank accounts. They know how much groceries, utilities, gas, cars, rent, and housing cost before Biden, so they are painfully aware of how inflation has decreased the power of their dollars. And the focus group proved once again that Biden's narrative about the economy isn't resonating with voters.
If the election comes down to undecided voters in a handful of battleground states, remember Carville's thesis — especially as inflation worsens.
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Focus group of undecided voters brutalize Biden's re-election hopes: 'Has he done anything? Because I haven't seen it'
The New York Times recently hosted a focus group of undecided voters, proving just how badly President Joe Biden is perceived among moderate voters.
A panel of 13 undecided independent voters, ages 22-64, confirmed the most important issue for voters today is the economy, including inflation and the cost of living. Only one voter feels positive about the direction of the economy compared to a year ago, and that person's justification centered on a cooled housing market.
When the voters were presented with a list of five issues — the economy, the border crisis, abortion, "protecting democracy," and the war between Israel and Hamas — and asked which single issue most influences how they will vote in November, all but one member of the group said the economy.
"People want to stop seeing the debt ceiling climb and climb. We’re at $34 trillion. We want to be responsible with our fiscal spending. We want to see a net positive trajectory of how we’re tackling our debt. We’re sending money to Ukraine, Israel, what have you, but what about the things here?" said Kenneth from Texas.
"Shouldn’t our focus be on our country right now? That’s the direction we should be taking. We’ve given enough to all the other countries to help them. We’re going down fast and hard," explained Robin from New Hampshire.
This finding should alarm Biden's campaign because poll after poll after poll has found that voters trust Donald Trump — not Biden — to handle the economy.
Even worse, when the voters were asked to describe Biden, they used words and phrases like "a little bit senile," "puppet," "disingenuous," and "unfit for the presidency." The focus group also believes Biden has accomplished almost nothing — with the exception of the infrastructure bill, support for Ukraine, and promoting racial diversity.
"Has he done anything? Because I haven’t seen it," said Robin.
"I think his presidency has been very weak and divisive," said Hal from Florida.
"Yeah, nothing economy-wise," said Kim from North Carolina.
Interestingly, the entire focus group agreed they don't want to hear more from Biden about abortion, the issue Democrats believe wins them elections. In the eyes of the voters, the issue is "solved" and a "diversion."
To be fair, the voters didn't exactly praise Trump, though they celebrated his ambition, boldness, economic policy, and ability to drive important conversations.
The most telling finding of the focus group came last. When asked by the moderator who they would vote for if the election were held today, 11 said Trump and only two said Biden.
Biden, said Meaghan from Wisconsin, has been a "disaster." He's "not inspiring," added Henry from Georgia, and he is "controlled," said Lorraine from Pennsylvania.
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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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