New focus groups of potential swing voters conducted in three critical battleground states—Georgia, Wisconsin, and Nevada—demonstrate the extent to which many voters still haven’t grasped Donald Trump’s sweeping legal liabilities or his belief he’s immune from prosecution.
The groups, conducted by GBAO for Navigator Research, consisted of soft partisans and independents who don't necessarily prioritize democracy as a top issue but are concerned the country could experience another event like the violent Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. In other words, these voters seem generally grounded in reality, and most take the Jan. 6 insurrection seriously, but they don't lie awake at night fretting over democracy's demise.
The most illuminating aspect of the focus groups was how little voters with this profile know about Trump's legal entanglements and, particularly, his authoritarian push for absolute immunity. In fact, these voters seem aghast as they discover in real time that Trump thinks presidents should be immune from prosecution for actions taken while in office.
The moderator informs them of Trump’s argument that every president should have immunity for "everything they do as president," unless they are impeached and convicted by Congress. "What do you think of that?" asks the moderator.
“It's ridiculous," responded an independent Wisconsin woman who leans Republican. "So he's saying if he killed somebody, he'd be immune.”
“Yeah, I think that's crazy too. That's too much power," said a male Georgia independent who leans Republican.
A Nevada woman, identified as a weak Democrat, grew incredulous at Trump's assertion. “No matter what? So a president could kill somebody, and they should have immunity?" she said. "That's crazy."
The responses lay bare the fact that many voters have no idea that Trump regularly posts on Truth Social, in all caps, things along the lines of: "A PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES MUST HAVE FULL IMMUNITY, WITHOUT WHICH IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR HIM/HER TO PROPERLY FUNCTION."
Trump's latest such post, on Jan. 27, stated, "IF IMMUNITY IS NOT GRANTED TO A PRESIDENT, EVERY PRESIDENT THAT LEAVES OFFICE WILL BE IMMEDIATELY INDICTED BY THE OPPOSING PARTY."
If the voters in the focus groups were surprised by Trump's argument, imagine if they learned he pushes out an all-caps tweet on the matter at least once a week.
Some participants were similarly thrown by the extent of Trump's legal trouble when they learned he is "facing 91 felony indictments."
"Jesus Christ," responded a Nevada woman who's a weak Democrat.
"It certainly is shocking to think that," replied a male Wisconsin independent who leans Republican. "[T]his is crazy.”
Some participants seemed more engaged with Trump’s legal battles, however. One Nevada woman described as an independent who leans Democratic said, “I mean, we could go through the list of things that he went through trial for, and if I'm not wrong, I believe it's anywhere from taxes to fraud, things like that.”
Still, none of the participants quoted in Navigator’s report mentioned Trump being indicted for trying to overturn the 2020 election—arguably his most egregious violation as president.
The takeaway from these focus groups is that Democrats shouldn't take for granted even basic knowledge about Trump's legal challenges and his autocratic impulses. Many voters still don't know the severity of Trump's wide-ranging criminal indictments, and they have no idea the vigor with which he is claiming to be above the law.
Campaign Action
