AILSA CHANG, HOST:
OK, with America so polarized, swing voters - meaning those who shift between parties and candidates - are key for determining who wins elections. For a little insight into how some swing voters are viewing the first year of President Trump's second term, we're joined now by NPR's senior national political correspondent Mara Liasson, who observed a unique focus group. Hi, Mara.
MARA LIASSON, BYLINE: Hi there.
CHANG: Hi. OK, so tell us about what made this focus group so interesting to you.
LIASSON: Well, first of all, a focus group is not a poll. It's not a statistically significant sample. But it can provide a lot of information on the why - why voters feel a certain way. So we have a focus group of 14 voters, all from Pennsylvania. They voted for Joe Biden in 2020, then swung to Donald Trump in 2024. And this is part of NPR's Swing Voter Project, and it's conducted by two research firms, Engagious and Sego. NPR is the media partner. And these focus groups are going to occur monthly, so we're going to be bringing you these insights every month.
CHANG: Oh, interesting. OK, so the 14 voters, do we know their political leanings?
LIASSON: Yes. They are right-leaning. More identify as Republicans and independents than Democrats. But one thing they have all in common is they take a very dim view of both major parties. They were asked to use one word to describe each party. Here's what they had to say about Republicans.
UNIDENTIFIED PARTICIPANT #1: Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED PARTICIPANT #2: Weak.
UNIDENTIFIED PARTICIPANT #3: Conservative.
UNIDENTIFIED PARTICIPANT #4: Bewildered.
UNIDENTIFIED PARTICIPANT #5: Outspoken.
UNIDENTIFIED PARTICIPANT #6: Patriotic.
KIMBERLY: Loyal.
UNIDENTIFIED PARTICIPANT #7: Immoral.
LIASSON: And here's what they said about Democrats.
UNIDENTIFIED PARTICIPANT #8: Distracted.
KIMBERLY: Unprepared.
UNIDENTIFIED PARTICIPANT #1: Panicked.
UNIDENTIFIED PARTICIPANT #5: Sensitive.
UNIDENTIFIED PARTICIPANT #2: Whiny.
UNIDENTIFIED PARTICIPANT #9: Scary.
GRACE: Disoriented.
UNIDENTIFIED PARTICIPANT #10: Corrupt.
UNIDENTIFIED PARTICIPANT #11: Weak.
LIASSON: So even though most independent voters actually align with one party or the other, their displeasure with both parties are why they move back and forth.
CHANG: Clearly. OK. These voters, I understand, were asked a lot of topics in the news, like immigration, Venezuela, Greenland. You listened in. Was there a main takeaway for you?
LIASSON: My main takeaway was these voters have not abandoned Trump altogether, but they want him to focus less on foreign affairs and more on the economy. And more importantly, they feel like all the action with Venezuela and Greenland is chaotic, and it's making them economically anxious. Here's one voter, Grace (ph) - only used her first name. And in this clip, you can hear the moderator of the focus group, Rich Thau.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
GRACE: When the invasion occurred with Venezuela, no one in America had any idea that that was going to happen. We just turned on the news. They went in in darkness, and it just happened. So now I feel like, what's next? I have this feeling of, I don't know what's going to happen next.
RICH THAU: And that's causing economic anxiety for you (ph)?
GRACE: Correct.
LIASSON: Now, the White House says Trump is going to talk more about the economy, he's going to take weekly trips, but they haven't always been able to get him to focus on that. Voters in our group were frustrated. They said Trump was too focused on Greenland and Venezuela and not getting the Nobel Peace Prize. And even voters who see some good things happening are still unsatisfied, like Kimberly (ph), who's an independent from Philadelphia.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
KIMBERLY: Aside from gas being down, aside from the border being closed - those are two great things - but I really don't see the president speaking to working individuals.
LIASSON: So you're going to hear that message from Democrats.
CHANG: OK. Well, given some of the critical comments we've just heard, were any of the participants regretting their vote?
LIASSON: Very, very few - 8 out of the 14 said they disapprove of Trump's job performance, but only two voters said they would vote for Harris if there was a do-over. So what we're going to be watching over the next 10 months is how these mixed feelings shape the midterms. Trump is not on the ballot, but Republicans are, and views of Trump will shape voter choices.
CHANG: That is NPR's Mara Liasson. Thank you so much, Mara.
LIASSON: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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