Nine Trump Voters Weigh In on Kamala Harris for President

In May 2023, a group of 12 women voters from swing states who had supported Donald Trump in the 2020 election were interviewed to gauge their stance on a rematch between Trump and President Biden. They were enthusiastic about Trump, with 11 out of 12 predicting his victory. However, half of them also thought it was important to have a female president in the coming decade and a few praised Kamala Harris. This month, now that Harris is the Democratic nominee, nine of these women were invited back for a conversation about the impact of having a woman at the top of the ticket.

The group, still largely pro-Trump, was now split on whether Trump would win. They trusted Trump more on economic issues like inflation. Interestingly, four women trusted Harris more when it came to abortion, though they saw it more as a social issue than a political one. Some women expressed stronger concerns about Trump’s policies and rhetoric, including his support for tax cuts for the wealthy and his poor communication style. Several also expressed worries about political violence from Trump’s supporters. One woman had switched her support from Trump to Harris, and another was leaning that way. They admired Harris’s confidence and enthusiasm and were curious about the perspective a woman president would bring. While some pro-Trump women acknowledged Harris’s vocal, empathetic, and courageous qualities, others criticized her as being robotic, fake, and unqualified. Regardless, they all agreed that Harris had a real shot against Trump and earned some respect from them, a sentiment that wasn’t as strong in May.

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