Some swing voters in Erie, Pa., tell us they're gravitating to Joe Biden — less as a change agent than as a path back to stability, and to restoring the national respect they feel has been lost under President Trump.
The big picture: This was the first time in 16 of our monthly
Engagious/Schlesinger swing-voter focus groups that more participants opposed Trump than supported him.
Why it matters: Most participants in the latest installment of the focus group say they don't think the country is better off than it was four years ago, and they've grown to lament the "chaos" that has come to define the Trump presidency.
- Participants described feeling "annoyed," "irritated," and "frustrated" to see the president out and about and not wearing a mask amid the coronavirus.
- They called his approach to the pandemic "arrogant" and "offensive" in the face of deaths, and lamented his Bible photo-op at St. John's Church in D.C. as "phony" catering to the base that "was in poor taste."
- By contrast, participants described Biden as a "role model" for wearing a mask, calling him "informed," "educated," and "responsible." Several said Biden would bring "respect" back to the presidency and the country.
