Focus group participants who didn’t vote in the high-turnout presidential election largely had fond memories of the Trump-era economy.

Among these voters, Harris gets a boost because they believe she would protect abortion rights, and some have broader hopes that electing the first female president could send a strong message to the country. But she’s weighed down by a number of important factors: a dim diagnosis of America’s economy, negative views about life during President Joe Biden’s administration and a lack of familiarity with her, which has bred ambivalence and distrust.

It’s different for Trump, one of the best-known political figures on the planet. Some of these voters believe his conduct during his time in office has disqualified him in their eyes, and even some of his supporters fear he’d focus more in a second term on fighting his enemies than on governing.

Still, a majority of the 12 participants in two sessions — part of the NBC News Deciders Focus Group, produced in collaboration with Syracuse University and the research firms Engagious and Sago — are leaning toward Trump for the oldest reason in politics: It’s the economy.

  • JackEnglish
    15·
    7 hours ago

    “Everybody complains about politicians. Everybody says they suck. Well, where do people think these politicians come from? They don’t fall out of the sky. They don’t pass through a membrane from another reality. They come from American parents and American families, American homes, American schools, American churches, American businesses, and American universities - and they are elected by American citizens. This is the best we can do folks. This is what we have to offer. It’s what our system produces: Garbage in, garbage out. If you have selfish, ignorant citizens, […] you’re going to get selfish, ignorant leaders. Term limits ain’t going to do any good; you’re just going to end up with a brand new bunch of selfish, ignorant Americans. So, maybe, maybe, maybe, it’s not the politicians who suck. Maybe something else sucks around here… like, the public. Yeah, the public sucks. There’s a nice campaign slogan for somebody: ‘The public sucks. Fuck hope.’” – George Carlin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBrbXOmnW70

    I don’t completely agree: slavery is now illegal; so there’s hope they’ll one day vote to oppose omnicidal biosphere destruction, and genocides.