Independent Voters Shockingly Align with Trump on Immigration

Clear Facts

• Independent voters showed significant support for Trump’s immigration policies during the ABC News Presidential Debate.
• The focus group consisted of seven Democrats, five independents, and five Republicans, with independents’ reactions closely aligning with Republicans.
• Pollster Lee Carter was surprised by the intensity of independent support for Trump, especially on issues like immigration, the economy, and crime.

Dials monitoring the reaction of a focus group during Tuesday’s presidential debate revealed a surprising trend: independent voters showed significant support for former President Trump’s immigration policies, aligning closely with Republican respondents.

During the debate, Trump criticized Vice President Kamala Harris, blaming the Biden-Harris administration for “destroying the fabric of our country” due to the influx of illegal immigration.

The former president also attributed the rise in “migrant crime” to the current administration, a sentiment that resonated not just with Republicans, but also with a considerable number of independents.

The focus group, which included seven Democrats, five independents, and five Republicans, was represented by blue, yellow, and red lines, respectively. When Trump addressed the issue of rising crime linked to illegal immigrants, the yellow line representing independents surged, overlapping with the red Republican line.

Lee Carter, pollster and president of Maslansky + Partners, expressed her astonishment at this trend.

“I was really, really surprised because the intensity of the independent support was there for Donald Trump and I didn’t expect it,” Carter said.

“Independents are tracking very much with Republicans. They’re looking for a couple of things. They’re looking for answers on immigration, they’re looking for answers on the economy. They want to hear that things will get better for them and they also want change from what is happening right now,” Carter continued.

“One of the most important things they were looking for last night from Kamala Harris is how are you going to make it different?”

An independent voter from New York who participated in a voter panel shared his perspective.

“You don’t have to look any further than the five boroughs to see the impact of the migrant crisis,” he said.

“When asked directly by the moderators, Kamala didn’t even make an effort to defend the administration’s policies at all. She can’t,” he added. “It’s indefensible, so she pivoted… but they totally rewrote all of Trump’s immigration policies year one. I would’ve liked to have seen an explanation for the country as to why they did that.”

Carter highlighted additional instances where independents’ reactions mirrored those of Republicans, including on topics such as fracking, abortion, and the economy.

The dial results suggest the GOP “better pay attention” to non-affiliated voters.

“I think the independents are tracking this way with Trump’s responses because it is obvious what’s happening across the country in these cities,” a GOP voter from New Jersey commented.

“Every single day we’re seeing destruction… crime… every single day our safety is being compromised, and I think you can’t hide from that, and I think it’s becoming more and more obvious and something needs to change.”

Independents showed some dissatisfaction with Trump when he discussed the coronavirus pandemic. However, both Democrats and Republicans were consistently more supportive of the former president as he talked about the pandemic and the economy.

Nonetheless, all three voting blocs showed strong support for Trump when he promised to “cut taxes very substantially and create a great economy like I did before.”

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