This focus group, dubbed 'The Undecideds,' exclusively featured uncommitted voters from key swing states. Its participants offered negative assessments of both major party presidential nominees, but in different realms. They objected to Donald Trump's personality, calling him "mean," a "bully," "volatile," and "divisive." One woman practically pleaded with the former president to improve his behavior, saying, "if Trump just shut his mouth like, and just did the policy and his work, I would I would say 'yes, please come back.' But if he just learns to keep his mouth closed, don’t make comments about people that he might not necessarily like that much and just be a strong leader and and do his job." In short, they don't like him. And yes, that matters -- a lot. Presidential elections often do boil down to likability contests. But when the number one issue came up in the discussion, things turned very dark, very quickly for the incumbent. Unanimous:
Raise your hand if you think President Trump's policies on the economy would be better for your family ✋ pic.twitter.com/5WqShG0mlZ
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) April 10, 2024
"Alright, so that is everybody." Not a single person on screen, all of whom were undecided voters in battleground states, thought their family would be better off under President Biden's economic policies. They all preferred Trump on this crucial metric. Some of their specific comments were even more unsparing:
Nathan: I think [Biden has] been absolutely disastrous for the economy.
Virginia: We have areas here in Pennsylvania where it’s just at a standstill right now, like things are supposed to be being built and the interest rates are just way too high for people to, you know, invest in and start moving moving around.
Gigi: I mean, I feel like he doesn’t even take accountability for, at all, with what’s going on in the economy, and not even accountability. Like he’s in denial that it’s happening.
Omar: The point is, 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 not, to Katie’s point, thinking about how much it costs to go to the grocery store. He’s gaslighting literally everyone in the process.
It's not just that they're dissatisfied with the state of the economy under Biden. It's not just that they prefer Trump's policies. It's that they're actively angry with Biden for being so out of touch, blasting his lack of accountability and gaslighting. These people represent the living embodiment of David Axelrod's recent warning about Bidenworld's foolish economic triumphalism:
Obama consultant David Axelrod warning the Biden team of 'extolling the miracle' of the Biden economy:
— Eric Abbenante (@EricAbbenante) April 6, 2024
"It just drives me crazy when he does that."
"He needs to put himself on the side of working people in their economic fight."
Don't piss on Americans and tell us it's rain. pic.twitter.com/21p1eEbpXI
By the way, the focus group above was conducted, and Axelrod gave that interview, before this week's bad inflation report. A new Gallup poll further distills the dynamic that could well decide the November election:
GALLUP: does the following apply to Biden or Trump? (+/- shift since September 2020)
— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) April 3, 2024
Can manage the government effectively
🟥 Trump 49% (+1)
🟦 Biden 39% (-13)
Is likable
🟦 Biden 57% (-9)
🟥 Trump 37% (+1)
Displays good judgement in crisis
🟥 Trump 45% (+1)
🟦 Biden 40% (-9)… pic.twitter.com/YtRLGlxowc
Biden holds double-digit leads on likability and honesty, and a smaller edge on caring about people. Trump holds double-digit leads on effectiveness at the job and decisive leadership, with a smaller edge on responding to crises. Voters prefer Biden's personal qualities, but think Trump is better at the job itself. Which of those will win out? Look at this, also from the Gallup survey:
Key takeaway from Gallup's Biden/Trump numbers on character & leadership qualities: Trump's standing in all categories are virtually unchanged from 2020, for better and worse. Biden's standing across all categories is appreciably diminished: pic.twitter.com/2vXtAGkbAQ
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) April 10, 2024
Views on Trump are absolutely baked into the cake. They're almost chiseled in stone. Everyone knows exactly how they feel about him, and those perceptions are generally unchanged since he left office (although his retrospective job approval has increased in multiple polls, as people compare his performance to the current president's). Biden, however, has lost ground across the board in these categories. I'll leave you with this economic note, as David Axelrod shakes his head somewhere:
I’m sure these small business owners/employers/engines of the US economy are just delusional ingrates who refuse to recognize the thriving miracle of Bidenomics: pic.twitter.com/LfJfZfm9yZ
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) April 9, 2024
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