These two-time Trump voters are fed up: 'He’s completely unfit'

06 June 2024

GOP strategist Sarah Longwell has a long history of supporting conservative candidates. But Longwell, publisher of The Bulwark and founder of the Republican Accountability Project (formerly Republican Voters Against Trump), is a scathing critic of presumptive 2024 GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Longwell aggressively supported now-President Joe Biden in 2020, and she is supporting him again this year.

As part of her anti-Trump, pro-Biden efforts, Longwell has coordinated focus groups featuring independent voters and swing voters — some of whom supported Trump in the past.

In an article published by The Atlantic on June 5, Longwell describes a group of swing voters she spoke to during a recent focus group. Some supported Trump in both 2016 and 2020 but have reached their breaking point.

The Never Trump conservative stresses that "double haters" — voters who are highly critical of both Trump and Biden — haven't necessarily decided to vote for the incumbent Democratic president. But some of them are clearly fed up with Trump.

"These are the 'double haters': the chunk of voters who are dissatisfied with both candidates, and are trying to decide which one is less bad," Longwell explains. "Although many of them are 'out' on Trump, they're struggling to get there on Biden. If Biden is going to win in November, these are the voters he must persuade to hold their noses and vote for him."

Illinois voter and focus group participant Alex said of Trump, "I made my mind up quite a while ago that I wouldn't vote for him. I just said: I can't bring myself to do it."

Ohio voter Chuck told Longwell, "There's no change in my desire to vote for Mr. Trump…. I'm not voting for the man. Period, end of discussion."

Another voter Longwell spoke to said of Trump, "Now that he is a convicted felon, he's completely unfit."

But Longwell also encountered plenty of criticism of Biden from these voters.

"When asked to grade Biden's performance," Longwell notes, "three gave C's, three gave D's, and three gave F's. Only one admitted to ever voting for a Democrat, and Alex, the Illinoisian, said flatly: 'I will never vote for, probably, a Democrat in my life.'"

The voters Longwell spoke to are much different from Trump's hardcore MAGA base.

"Spending 90 minutes with this group helps explain how the double haters are thinking about this race," Longwell notes. "They're not all united ideologically, but they're united in trusting the judicial system over Trump — at least for now. These voters don't speak for the majority; as swing voters, they're marginal. But the margins will decide this race."

The Never Trump conservative adds, "The conviction confirmed what many of them already knew: Trump is unfit for office. Whether or not voters like this 'go home' to Trump or choose to support Biden over the next five months will be a big factor in deciding the election.

Sarah Longwell's full article for The Atlantic is available at this link (subscription required).

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