Michigan
Opinion | Michigan, Trump and Harris: 11 Voters Discuss.
What’s one word to describe Donald Trump? What’s one word to describe
Donald Trump?
Aaron, 54, Black, Dem.
Muhammad, 25, Asian, indep.
Sarah, 43, white, Repub.
As the votes were counted on election night 2016, the first big sign of trouble for Hillary Clinton came from Michigan, arguably the most Democratic of the presidential swing states. In 2020, Joe Biden flipped it back to the Democrats. Now, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump appear to be in a dead heat in Michigan, and it’s once again crucial for winning the presidency. For our latest Times Opinion focus group, we gathered a cross-section of Michigan voters to assess the race in the home stretch.
The takeaway isn’t especially positive for Ms. Harris.
Our five independents, four Democrats and two Republicans were clear on a few points: Most want significant change in America under the next president, and the bulk of them cite the economy as their top issue and care more about the candidates’ policies than their values. One voter was troubled by Ms. Harris’s support for arms to Israel and is leaning toward Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate. Others thought Mr. Trump didn’t understand what it meant to struggle financially.
Perhaps most worrisome for Ms. Harris, nine of our 11 participants thought she would pursue policies similar to Mr. Biden’s. Muhammad, a 25-year-old software engineer and registered independent who voted for Mr. Biden in 2020, said he was struck by a recent TV ad showing Ms. Harris on “The View” saying she could not think of a thing she would have done differently from Mr. Biden during their administration.
“I understand not pushing Biden under the bus, but she needs to be more authentic and actually take responsibility for the failures of her administration. She was the border czar, and that is a failure. All she needed to do was be authentic about that,” Muhammad said.
Some participants were enthusiastic about Ms. Harris’s energy and ideas and thought that as a woman, she represented change. But as for who will win Michigan and the presidency, these voters thought the race was trending toward Trump, even though several of them saw him as dangerous and unhinged.
Participants
Aaron 54, Black, Democrat, janitor
Ameera 24, white, Democrat, lawyer
Angie 54, white, independent, I.T.
Erayna 27, multiracial, independent, unemployed
Kyle 35, white, Republican, manager
Michael B. 35, white, independent, unemployed
Michael W. 30, Black, Democrat, fast-food employee
Muhammad 25, Asian, independent, software engineer
Nicole 42, Black, Democrat, housekeeper
Peter 54, white, independent, stage actor
Sarah 43, white, Republican, homemaker
Transcript
Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson
In one word, how would you say you feel about the November election?
Sarah, 43, white, Republican, homemaker
Anxious
Michael W., 30, Black, Democrat, fast-food employee
Indecisive.
Kyle, 35, white, Republican, manager
Exhausted.
Peter, 54, white, independent, stage actor
I’d say “anxious,” too.
Aaron, 54, Black, Democrat, janitor
Motivated.
Muhammad, 25, Asian, independent, software engineer
Excited.
Ameera, 24, white, Democrat, lawyer
Frustrated.
Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson
Kyle, you said “exhausted.”
Kyle, 35, white, Republican, manager
It’s a nonstop barrage of political ads, political mailers. I just can’t wait for the election to be over.
Michael W., 30, Black, Democrat, fast-food employee
The political ads are abrasive, and they kind of put you in a “What do you believe?” type of place. It’s hard to decide.
Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson
What is this election about?
Michael W., 30, Black, Democrat, fast-food employee
Power.
Peter, 54, white, independent, stage actor
It’s about democracy and about truth. Is there any kind of objective truth?
Ameera, 24, white, Democrat, lawyer
It’s a power struggle. Right now the candidates are saying: I’m better than this other person. They’re not actually giving us any information about what could change.
Angie, 54, white, independent, I.T.
I think it comes down to America’s values. Freedoms, choices, honesty, integrity, immigration — how much is too much, or how much can we afford to offer?
Aaron, 54, Black, Democrat, janitor
The election is about change. Old guard to a new guard. We need to get back to individual choice, a little less intrusiveness from the government and more personal responsibility.
Sarah, 43, white, Republican, homemaker
It’s about the truth behind a candidate’s words.
is going to play a major role in deciding who to vote for.
Aaron,
54, Black, Dem.
Ameera,
24, white, Dem.
Angie,
54, white, indep.
Erayna,
27, multiracial, indep.
Kyle,
35, white, Repub.
Michael W.,
30, Black, Dem.
Muhammad,
25, Asian, indep.
Angie,
54, white, indep.
Michael W.,
30, Black, Dem.
Muhammad,
25, Asian, indep.
Aaron,
54, Black, Dem.
Angie,
54, white, indep.
Kyle,
35, white, Repub.
Peter,
54, white, indep.
Aaron,
54, Black, Dem.
Angie,
54, white, indep.
Erayna,
27, multiracial, indep.
Michael W.,
30, Black, Dem.
Aaron,
54, Black, Dem.
Ameera,
24, white, Dem.
Angie,
54, white, indep.
Kyle,
35, white, Repub.
Peter,
54, white, indep.
Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson
Tell me what matters to you when it comes to the economy.
Kyle, 35, white, Republican, manager
How do we restart growth? What’s the path forward? We’ve been stagnant for quite some years. My job has been very stable. But there’s a lot of people out there that I’ve seen lose jobs or have to take lower-paying jobs or work in careers that they don’t like to do.
Angie, 54, white, independent, I.T.
The cost of living might have affected me a little bit, but I have two daughters who have recently graduated and are out in the job market, and I see how difficult and how competitive it is to get a good job these days. You can go to college and still not be able to get the jobs that you were once promised were going to be out there, with benefits and health insurance.
Michael W., 30, Black, Democrat, fast-food employee
I would just like to see some plan of action of moving forward with the economy. What is that clear path of how our economy is going to grow?
Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson
Muhammad, tell me why you said immigration was a major issue for you.
Muhammad, 25, Asian, independent, software engineer
The American dream is becoming less and less of a reality for most people, at least in my generation. So we definitely need to do something about illegal immigration. One side is denying it’s a problem. You need to take care of Americans first rather than paying for their hotel just because they crossed illegally.
Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson
Peter and then Aaron, tell me a little bit more about democracy.
Peter, 54, white, independent, stage actor
Jan. 6 was the big deciding factor for me. I’ve voted for plenty of Republicans. I’ve voted for Democrats. But he tried to overturn the peaceful transition of power. We have someone who just completely denies it. I don’t see how we move forward. I don’t.
Aaron, 54, Black, Democrat, janitor
Since when do we let felons run for jobs in the White House? I don’t understand it. It’s hard to even get beyond that. And the things that he says are just mean-spirited. I didn’t know that we could let people who act like children and hold top offices in our political government. A candidate openly trying to get unchecked power is just unsettling. And he’s clear. He’s not lying. He’s literally telling us what he wants to do.
Angie, 54, white, independent, I.T.
Just because someone wasn’t convicted in a court of law of something doesn’t mean the other side isn’t just as guilty of crimes as well. It’s just really concerning that each side can use that power to abuse it and try to do whatever it is they want to do and lie so forthrightly about it, whether it was Covid or anything else.
Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson
Tell me why abortion is important to you.
Erayna, 27, multiracial, independent, unemployed
No man can really tell you what to do with your body. And I feel like there could be so many reasons behind an abortion. It’s not always the common reason. And if they can’t have one in their own state, then, I don’t know, you’re kind of crazy to me.
Michael W., 30, Black, Democrat, fast-food employee
I’ve been raised by all women. I would hate for any of them to be in a situation where they became pregnant and they don’t have any other options. That’s just a scary feeling to have the law governing a human being.
Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson
Let’s hear from the people who care a lot about foreign affairs and security.
Ameera, 24, white, Democrat, lawyer
They’re sending billions of dollars every year to Israel, to Ukraine, to all these other countries. A lot of these politicians, they say they care about Americans, but really, we care for people overseas. If they reinvested those billions into our country, it would be in a better position than it is now. I don’t want to see a president who just helps fund war crimes.
Kyle, 35, white, Republican, manager
Ameera, I respect your views, but I’m going to take the opposite position, where I would prefer to see conflicts be managed outside our borders, where we’re not getting directly drawn in. We need to be able to maintain our presence on the world stage. But if there’s other sides that are warring against one another, I think that taking a stance on that rather than being isolationist is the better path forward.
Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson
Let’s talk directly about the candidates. When you think of Kamala Harris, what is one word that comes to mind?
Nicole, 42, Black, Democrat, housekeeper
Not believable.
Ameera, 24, white, Democrat, lawyer
Deceptive.
Angie, 54, white, independent, I.T.
I would agree with “deceptive.”
Sarah, 43, white, Republican, homemaker
Fake.
Peter, 54, white, independent, stage actor
Opportunist.
Muhammad, 25, Asian, independent, software engineer
I would say “incompetent.”
Erayna, 27, multiracial, independent, unemployed
Go-getting.
Michael W., 30, Black, Democrat, fast-food employee
Word salad.
Kyle, 35, white, Republican, manager
Fresh.
Michael B., 35, white, independent, unemployed
Unserious.
Aaron, 54, Black, Democrat, janitor
Change.
Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson
Michael B., tell me what you mean by “unserious.”
Michael B., 35, white, independent, unemployed
I don’t mean that she seems like she’s going to do a bad job. She seems to try and be more relatable to a younger generation, and so it just doesn’t seem to me like she’s taking things super seriously.
Kyle, 35, white, Republican, manager
I said “fresh” because I see her as a break from the establishment. She hasn’t been on the national stage for years on end, she’s not an incumbent who’s run in the past, she’s just a fresh face.
Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson
Several of you said some version of “not believable.” Tell me about that.
Sarah, 43, white, Republican, homemaker
She’s just always smiling, nodding her head, arguing for things she has no chance of ever delivering on. She’s just trying to get votes. And the jabs. I feel like they go too much for jabs at each other instead of actually saying what they’re going to do. It’s just a facade, if I had to sum it up.
Nicole, 42, Black, Democrat, housekeeper
When you see the commercials and hear her talking, it’s just like they’re saying what they want you to hear to get your vote. And she just doesn’t sound believable to me.
Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson
Has anyone seen, read or heard anything that Harris has done in terms of an interview, a podcast, a public appearance that made you think about her differently?
Muhammad, 25, Asian, independent, software engineer
Her recent appearance on “The View.” Trump has capitalized on that, put that in an attack ad. She said nothing comes to mind that she would do differently from Biden. I understand not pushing Biden under the bus, but she needs to be more authentic and actually take responsibility for the failures of her administration. She was the border czar, and that is a failure. All she needed to do was be authentic about that.
Peter, 54, white, independent, stage actor
Republicans lost any high ground on immigration the minute that Trump killed the border bill. I always thought of her pretty much as a lightweight. She wasn’t visibly doing a whole lot during the administration. At the Democratic convention, her speech was quite good. She had some gravitas. Her interviews have been less successful.
Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson
Let’s do the same exercise with Trump. What is one word that comes to mind when you think about Donald Trump?
Aaron, 54, Black, Democrat, janitor
Dangerous.
Kyle, 35, white, Republican, manager
Rude.
Erayna, 27, multiracial, independent, unemployed
Criminal.
Angie, 54, white, independent, I.T.
Rebellious.
Ameera, 24, white, Democrat, lawyer
Joke.
Michael W., 30, Black, Democrat, fast-food employee
I’d say “mastermind.”
Peter, 54, white, independent, stage actor
Fascist.
Michael B., 35, white, independent, unemployed
Unhinged.
Muhammad, 25, Asian, independent, software engineer
Charismatic.
Sarah, 43, white, Republican, homemaker
Ruthless.
Nicole, 42, Black, Democrat, housekeeper
Fake.
Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson
Nicole, you find Donald Trump fake, too. Tell me where that comes from.
Nicole, 42, Black, Democrat, housekeeper
Donald Trump, after his four years, after all the stuff that he got into, ain’t no way he was supposed to be able to run for election again. And then he’s just doing the same thing as Kamala, saying what he has to say to get to be president. It’s all just for show.
Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson
Sarah, you said “ruthless.”
Sarah, 43, white, Republican, homemaker
I believe in a lot of things that Trump has said and done. Other things I wish would be different. But he’s ruthless in that he doesn’t give up. With anything he does, he’s not shy. He doesn’t tiptoe around anything.
Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson
Are there any public appearances, podcasts, interviews, anything you’ve seen Donald Trump do recently that really stuck out and changed how you think about him?
Nicole, 42, Black, Democrat, housekeeper
When he went to McDonald’s in Pennsylvania and tried to be an employee, to me, he was mocking Kamala. That was wrong. That was so fake.
down to the candidates’ policies or
their character?
Aaron,
54, Black, Dem.
Angie,
54, white, indep.
Erayna,
27, multiracial, indep.
Michael B.,
35, white, indep.
Michael W.,
30, Black, Dem.
Muhammad,
25, Asian, indep.
Sarah,
43, white, Repub.
Ameera,
24, white, Dem.
Kyle,
35, white, Repub.
Peter,
54, white, indep.
Moderator, Patrick Healy
Peter, you said “values.”
Peter, 54, white, independent, stage actor
Policywise, I voted for plenty of Republicans in the past. I just think this man is all for himself. He would sell any one of us out, including the country. Valuewise, I’m not a huge fan of Kamala Harris, but I’m leaning that way because I just couldn’t find myself voting for Trump.
Moderator, Patrick Healy
And Erayna, you said “policy.”
Erayna, 27, multiracial, independent, unemployed
I was just thinking about the whole Project 2025 thing and Roe v. Wade and so many other issues. It’s going to come down to what is right and what is wrong.
Moderator, Patrick Healy
You all live in Michigan, an important swing state. What TV ads do you recall seeing that have made an impression one way or another?
Peter, 54, white, independent, stage actor
There’s one about the Ten Commandments, where they talk about voting your conscience. They put the commandment up, “Do not commit adultery,” and then they show the picture of Trump with the porn stars. “Thou shalt not steal,” and then felonies in New York. A lot of Christians want to vote for him, but they’re voting for a man who couldn’t care less about the Commandments.
Muhammad, 25, Asian, independent, software engineer
That ad of Harris on “The View.” It’s not pushing me to Trump, but it’s pushing me away from Kamala.
Moderator, Patrick Healy
In 2016, Donald Trump won Michigan, but just barely. And then in 2020, Michigan swung toward Biden, who won the state by about three percentage points. I’m curious if any of you switched from supporting Trump in 2016 to supporting Biden in 2020.
Muhammad, 25, Asian, independent, software engineer
I wasn’t old enough to vote in 2016, but I was leaning Trump. I voted for Biden in 2020.
Moderator, Patrick Healy
Why is that?
Muhammad, 25, Asian, independent, software engineer
Covid happened, and the country needed a stable leader, not someone who you don’t know what they’re going to do next. We needed Biden at that time. Trump is charismatic and all, but he has his faults.
Kyle, 35, white, Republican, manager
I voted for Trump in 2016 and then Biden in 2020. When Trump came in, I saw him as a break from the establishment. The perception that I had of him was that he was a strong business leader, he would help get our country back on track economically, turn around our national deficit, be able to really drive growth in America and really just kind of get the train back on the tracks. Fast-forward four years. I didn’t really see that happen. He became so unpresidential in my mind that I said, “I can’t vote for that. That’s not what the president of the United States should look or should act like.” Donald Trump lost my vote.
or different policies from Joe Biden?
Aaron,
54, Black, Dem.
Ameera,
24, white, Dem.
Angie,
54, white, indep.
Kyle,
35, white, Repub.
Michael W.,
30, Black, Dem.
Muhammad,
25, Asian, indep.
Nicole,
42, Black, Dem.
Peter,
54, white, indep.
Sarah,
43, white, Repub.
Erayna,
27, multiracial, indep.
Michael B.,
35, white, indep.
Sarah, 43, white, Republican, homemaker
I think it’s going to be similar, just from everything she said. I don’t think she has new, fresh ideas. Everything at the border has just been mass chaos, and she says she’s going to do something about it. But she helped cause it. They didn’t do anything about it.
Michael B., 35, white, independent, unemployed
I think she might be different from Biden because we can’t really predict what someone’s going to do once they’re actually in office. It’s probably a totally different experience once you’re there.
Ameera, 24, white, Democrat, lawyer
When she was helping Biden run for re-election, when his health was just getting worse and worse, she kind of kept it a secret. I don’t think she really has any ideas of her own. I feel like she’s just kind of piggybacking off the Biden administration.
Moderator, Patrick Healy
Ameera, if Harris is elected, she’d be the first woman and the first woman of color to be president. Do you think that would affect any of the policies, in terms of difference, or not?
Ameera, 24, white, Democrat, lawyer
I wish I could say yes, but she hasn’t shown me anything through her actions that really shows she’s here to support women and women of color. I love the fact that we could get a woman president. I want to see that happen. But I also want to see a woman president whose values align with my values.
Moderator, Patrick Healy
Nicole, same question, since you thought Harris’s policies and priorities would be similar to Biden’s. Do you think Harris being a woman would bring any difference or not really?
Nicole, 42, Black, Democrat, housekeeper
No. She followed Biden around and was basically his puppet. She would just continue it.
Moderator, Patrick Healy
Is there anything you think Harris or Trump really understands about Michigan, in particular? Do you think either of them cares about people like you?
Erayna, 27, multiracial, independent, unemployed
I remember hearing Trump say something about Detroit. He said Detroit looked trashy, put it in a negative light. I did not like that. The governor made a post about it on Facebook, responding to him. We’re not what he said we were.
Moderator, Patrick Healy
What did you think of Governor Whitmer’s response to that?
Erayna, 27, multiracial, independent, unemployed
I supported it. I was very happy she made the statement that she made.
Aaron, 54, Black, Democrat, janitor
For me, Harris understands the working person. I don’t think Trump understands what it takes to struggle, to have dignity while you’re still struggling. I don’t think he represents the spirit of Michigan.
Moderator, Patrick Healy
What’s the spirit of Michigan, Aaron?
Aaron, 54, Black, Democrat, janitor
We’re hard-working people here. We put the overtime in. We know what it means to struggle, take those food stamps and still work those two jobs and struggle with the day care and rely on friends and family to get by. Every day there’s a challenge. You can still smile through it, and you can still be nice to the person next to you, even if they’re doing better than you, worse than you or different from you. It’s not like that 100 percent, but that’s the overall feeling of Michigan that I have. And we’re just so diversified. I don’t like being pigeonholed into a group based on my financial status, race, religion, anything. And I think Michigan is just — overall, we have fun, and we work hard, and we play hard.
Sarah, 43, white, Republican, homemaker
I agree with everything he said about Michiganders. It’s literally exactly how we are.
Moderator, Patrick Healy
I want to go back to a point that Erayna made. Harris was recently in Detroit with Lizzo, the singer and rapper. And Lizzo said, “If Kamala wins, then the whole country will be like Detroit.” Lizzo meant this as a positive. But then Trump was out there saying the same thing, casting it as a negative. How do you see all this?
Ameera, 24, white, Democrat, lawyer
Trump actually apologized for his Detroit comment a few days ago. Detroit’s just been going uphill in the past few years. I’ve seen all these improvements. Now the QLine is free. If we see these improvements in other areas in the country, I think that’d be great. Do I think Kamala will be able to do that? I don’t think she’s really made any of her stances clear enough.
Michael W., 30, Black, Democrat, fast-food employee
I don’t think she would be able to implement Detroit into other places.
Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson
Some of you are in a union or a union household. Harris has gotten the endorsements of the A.F.L.-C.I.O., N.E.A., S.E.I.U., U.A.W., and Trump has the backing of the Fraternal Order of Police, the National Border Control Council. The International Association of Firefighters and the Teamsters have chosen not to endorse any candidate. How does a union endorsement affect your thought process?
Peter, 54, white, independent, stage actor
I’m in a union. I vote the way I feel. Joe Biden was the first president ever to walk a union picket line. If people are going to assume that she’s going to do things pretty much the way he did it, then we have to then assume that she’s going to be pro-union.
Aaron, 54, Black, Democrat, janitor
I was in a union when I was working, and I’m fourth-generation G.M. Once upon a time, I think the union backing meant everything. But never once have I voted because the union endorsed somebody. I voted because I felt that way.
Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson
How, if at all, are you affected by the issue of American manufacturing and made in America?
Angie, 54, white, independent, I.T.
I think Trump was doing well during his presidency until Covid hit. And then the economy shut down. Businesses shut down. And we really saw how much we were reliant upon foreign trade and products from overseas. I think it’s important that we become more self-sufficient, employ our own people.
Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson
Angie, Donald Trump is proposing at least a 20 percent tariff on imported goods, which he says would help promote making things in America. Kamala Harris has called this the Trump sales tax, something that would make goods more expensive without actually helping American workers. What do you think about that idea?
Angie, 54, white, independent, I.T.
Twenty percent may be too high, but I mean, I think the idea behind what he’s proposing is good. I think there needs to be some kind of incentives for U.S. companies to produce these products that we need.
Kyle, 35, white, Republican, manager
My job has me front and center on everything supply-chain-related. The Covid shocks, the port strikes, the hurricanes, everything has demonstrated how limited we are. But large companies are realizing how fragile the chain is, so that’s helping bring things back. And if we don’t build it here already and then we’re going to put a 20 percent tariff on it, it’s just going to raise prices across the board for the end user. Not to say that that’s not the right nudge, but it definitely will raise prices.
Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson
What do you all think about third-party candidates like Jill Stein and about people who say if you’re voting for somebody like Stein, you’re just throwing your vote away or you’re taking a vote away from one of the two major-party candidates?
Ameera, 24, white, Democrat, lawyer
I think that’s the point. The point is to show them that they lost your vote. I thought I’d be a Democrat after I voted for Biden, but then I saw what he and Harris did. And that’s not who I want. Jill has really been doing her best to reach out to us in a way that’s more serious. Kamala has been making these TikToks, participating in trends, but we don’t care how cool you are. We care about what you’re going to do for us. Being realistic, Jill’s probably not going to win. But maybe that’ll incentivize them to create more policies that lead toward what she’s doing, because that way, they see what the voters actually want.
who do you think will win Michigan? Regardless of who you’ll vote
for, who do you think will win Michigan?
Ameera,
24, white, Dem.
Angie,
54, white, indep.
Kyle,
35, white, Repub.
Michael W.,
30, Black, Dem.
Muhammad,
25, Asian, indep.
Nicole,
42, Black, Dem.
Peter,
54, white, indep.
Sarah,
43, white, Repub.
Aaron,
54, Black, Dem.
Erayna,
27, multiracial, indep.
Nicole, 42, Black, Democrat, housekeeper
I think Trump is going to win because people think that Trump gave us all this stimulus money. They’re not going to vote for the right reasons.
Sarah, 43, white, Republican, homemaker
I just think that people I know gravitate more toward him. They think that he’s going to do what he says. He’ll make everything bigger, manufacturing, more jobs, all that. It could be really close, but I think Trump will win.
Kyle, 35, white, Republican, manager
I feel like the energy behind Trump in Michigan is much stronger than the energy behind Kamala is. You see Trump signs everywhere. Driving wherever, I hardly ever see Harris-Walz signs. The people who support Trump seem much more energized to vote. And I think the people who would vote for Kamala are kind of apathetic, a little bit.
Michael W., 30, Black, Democrat, fast-food employee
He just has a lot of supporters here in Michigan still. Even aside from Jan. 6, aside from everything that he’s been a part of, he still has people advocating for him very hard.
Michael B., 35, white, independent, unemployed
I just don’t think it’s easy to predict who’s going to do what. Most of the people I know go back and forth like a cat chasing a laser pointer. I don’t really know if it’s really fair to judge a candidate for one reason or another. Until it comes down to that day and you have to make that decision, when you’re standing there in that voting booth, it could go either way.
1 means not much at all and 5 means a whole lot
3
Kyle,
35, white, Repub.
Nicole,
42, Black, Dem.
4
Ameera,
24, white, Dem.
Angie,
54, white, indep.
Erayna,
27, multiracial, indep.
Michael B.,
35, white, indep.
Muhammad,
25, Asian, indep.
Peter,
54, white, indep.
Sarah,
43, white, Repub.
5
Aaron,
54, Black, Dem.
Michael W.,
30, Black, Dem.
Aaron, 54, Black, Democrat, janitor
We need a paradigm shift. We need a whole paradigm shift. Burn it all down, rebuild it, and let’s start passing it on to the next generation below us. My generation is stagnant in their thinking, and it’s not going to work. It’s not sustainable.
Moderator, Patrick Healy
Muhammad, you were a Biden voter in 2020, and now you’re saying it sounds like a good bit of change. You’re a young person. Tell me why.
Muhammad, 25, Asian, independent, software engineer
It just feels like a lot of people in my generation have a feeling that the American dream is not possible for us anymore. That causes a lot of disenfranchisement, like nobody’s listening to us. We definitely need new ideas. And we definitely need some kind of change to actually help the middle class.
Moderator, Patrick Healy
Muhammad, is there anything Kamala Harris could say or do in the last two weeks to convince you that she’s more of a change candidate than Trump?
Muhammad, 25, Asian, independent, software engineer
She just needs to convince me that she is more for American citizens than illegal immigrants. The few policies that she’s actually come out with are good, in terms of working-class people, but it just seems like she becomes a moderate to get the votes. She needs to show a bit of skin and actually accept her mistakes.
Michael W., 30, Black, Democrat, fast-food employee
I want a solid policy behind what they’re actually going to do, not a Day 1 plan. I don’t feel like we’ve gotten that from either candidate. Where are the policies? Where is everything for America? Where are the things for the American people so we’re not stagnant or worrying about what could possibly embark upon another Covid situation?
Peter, 54, white, independent, stage actor
The border bill — she’s already said she would sign it if it came up again. She has said $25,000 for new home buyers. And she has said $50,000 for new start-up small businesses. Those three things have made a difference to me, policywise.
Moderator, Patrick Healy
As people, as presidential candidates, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump — do you like them?
Michael B., 35, white, independent, unemployed
As a person, a human being, I think he’s awful. But as a president and as a businessman, it seems like when he was in office, whether or not I liked what he got done, he did get stuff done. Some of our foreign relationships with unsavory leaders were actually really friendly. I don’t know if they were afraid of him. No one in our past has really ever had that effect in the office.
Angie, 54, white, independent, I.T.
Personally, I don’t like the man. But I think that his past record showed he could get things done. He does have a business sense. He did do what he said he was going to do. And I really believe if it hadn’t been for Covid, he probably would have been re-elected the next go-round.
Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson
A final question: Regardless of how you’ll vote, how many of you think that Donald Trump is likely to be the next president of the United States? Show of hands. [Ameera, Muhammad, Michael B., Michael W., Nicole and Sarah raise a hand for Trump; Aaron and Erayna raise a hand for Harris.]