Voters from the swing state of Wisconsin are pointing the finger at Republicans and former President Donald Trump for the crisis at the border, according to a recently conducted focus group.
President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address last week didn’t give him the boost he needed in the polls, after hitting an all-time low in his favorability among voters at the end of last year. However, conversations from an Engagious/Sago focus group reported by Axios, suggest that the president’s comments on immigration and the border successfully riled Democrats and independents to put the blame on Republicans for the failed border bill.
“With the State of the Union, Biden successfully got swing voters mad at Trump for tanking a congressional deal on immigration,” Rich Thau, the president of Engagious who moderated the discussions told the outlet.
The Senate blocked the bipartisan border bill last month after hardline Republicans refused to approve the border package that also included sending billions of dollars to Ukraine and Israel. During his SOTU speech, he blamed the GOP for the border crisis saying, “Republicans owe it to the American people to get this bill done.”
Thirteen Wisconsin voters participated in the Tuesday focus groups which included six independents, four Democrats, and three Republicans. All of the participants said they were concerned about the country’s situation at the southern border and nine out of the 13 said they were upset about Trump’s hand in preventing a solution to the crisis.
“I think [Trump] wants to come in and try to show everybody that he saved the day by passing a bill — and so he’s sabotaging Biden’s opportunity,” one participant said.
While most participants were upset about Republicans and Trump’s disapproval of the border bill, the discussion revealed that most thought Trump would do better than Biden at fixing the issue.
“[Trump] seems to be more action-oriented. …. Good or bad, he just seems to be able to get more things done,” another participant said.
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While focus groups are not the same as polling information, the discussions in the focus group could reveal how Wisconsinites are feeling about Trump and Biden ahead of the November election. The battleground state was championed by Biden in 2020 where he beat Trump by just 0.3%. Wisconsin Republicans began a recall effort for the GOP’s top elected official Robin Vos who did not decertify Biden’s win in the swing state following the election.
What voters are saying in Wisconsin could be important as the country’s swing state will likely determine the outcome in 2024. Trump is currently leading Biden by one point in Wisconsin according to a RealClearPolitics polling average.
