5/19/26: NC Biden-to-Trump voters discuss Trump, midterms, Iran, AI

Added: 2026-05-22

[00:00:10]I'm glad he's concerned about the nuclear weapon, but what about people needing to put food on the table and get to their jobs?

[00:00:18]Eight of 12 North Carolina swing voters say that President Trump is out of touch with their economic concerns and nine of 12 say they are more economically stressed now than when he was rein.

[00:00:34]Despite that, we heard the highest level of Trump approval from swing voters since last November. Six of the 12 approve overall of his performance in office since retaking office. Let's unpack what's going on, starting with their reaction to comments the president made last week.

[00:00:53]>> Only thing that matters when I'm talking about Iran, they can't have a nuclear weapon. I don't think about Americans financial situation. I don't think about anybody. I think about one thing. We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon.

[00:01:08]>> Here's how respondents reacted. He's always been out of touch with our our economics, but um because he he's laser focused on just the the war. He's not thinking that $100 in groceries only gets me two bags of food. Doesn't even last me a week.

[00:01:29]>> I mean, he grew up rich. He's been rich his whole life. He He had no idea how much Thanksgiving dinner cost. You know, all he's concerned with is his ballroom, you know. He he didn't care when the the cut the the government shut down and the food stamps were cut off and that people, you know, at risk of going hungry. He he didn't care.

[00:01:50]>> He really understand the American people what we are going through, what we're surfing with.

[00:01:55]>> So what accounts for those who approve of his performance?

[00:02:00]>> Because he's he's doing most of what he said he would do. He's taking care of immigration. He's trying to get the um Middle East situation taken care of. He's stopped the you know stepped in to stop the wars with between um Russia and and I mean he's he's doing what he can as far as I can see as far as my opinion to he's doing what he said he would do.

[00:02:26]>> He's done a lot of what he said he was going to do. immigration and rule of law, doing things for the working families through his his tax revisions and stuff like that, voting integrity, um what he's done with NATO so far, and yeah, the Iran war has been tough, but he's playing the long game to get it get it in a place where we don't have to worry about them for a very long time.

[00:02:51]>> I see that in my opinion that he's slowly making progress. Uh, I know we've been at war with with Iran, if you will, but overall I think the intentions are good of trying to get help get the Middle East under control. And uh although I don't approve necessarily of bombing or anything like that, um I I approve of the fact that he's he's willing to have dialogue with these folks and he's reaching out to the folks. I don't necessarily think the attacking of a country is a good thing, but I think his intentions are good, if that makes sense. border control. Um the um having more the NATO alliances, having people help us with the defense spending for outside for the countries um and then strengthening our military.

[00:03:51]>> Definitely border um border control um and also dismembering revamping department of education. and I have two small children and I see the education system firsthand.

[00:04:07]>> I approve more than I disapprove, but mainly because um um what he spoke on to get in office, he did start working on once he got into office.

[00:04:18]>> Another advantage for the president is that nine of the 12 view him as strong.

[00:04:24]None view him as weak. Three others put him in some other category. The ones who see him as strong said this >> because he does what he wants to do.

[00:04:35]>> He says he's going to do something, he does it. Period. There whether you like it or not, he does it. That's why I feel like he's a strong president.

[00:04:44]>> Speaks his mind. He don't hold his tongue. He means what he say. He stand on what he say.

[00:04:49]>> I mean, he he doesn't back down with certain things and um doesn't back down strong with what he does.

[00:05:00]also the capture of Maduro >> because he doesn't take crap from other countries.

[00:05:05]>> He immediately steps up and says, "No, we're not doing that. Here's here's why." And he defends America. I think he tends to shake things up and um instead of the good old boys in Congress, if you will, and the ways that it's always been that that Trump's not scared to go up against them and try to do something different or better. There's probably no better example of President Trump's hold on some of these voters than this exchange with Debbie about why she feels less economically anxious now than when Trump retook office.

[00:05:45]>> Because I feel like if things weren't going on right now the way they are with Iran that our economy would start to even out a little better. Um I know everything feels like it's on the rise right now, but it's because everything is because fuel is. When fuel goes up, everything goes up. Groceries go up, everything goes up. So, I do feel like if that if that situation was taken care of, our economy would would go down. We would we would have a we would have a better I'm not wording that right. Um, we would have a better economy if the Iran thing was not going on.

[00:06:23]>> Okay, but Debbie, hang on a second. Let me let me play devil's advocate with you. The Iran thing is going on. Why aren't you more anxious because it's going on as opposed to hoping that when it's over it will be better? Explain that to me just so I understand it.

[00:06:35]>> Because I I I know there's a reason for it unlike with with the other president where it just kept going up and up and up and up and up. There was no reasoning behind it where this is there's a reason for it.

[00:06:52]So once this is settled, our economy will settle. We will be okay. I couldn't say that with the other president because there was no reason for our economy to be so jacked up out of shape.

[00:07:03]>> Where the president struggles is with his credibility. By a show of fingers, when President Trump says something or posts something online, who thinks most of the time he's credible?

[00:07:25]None of you think he's credible when he posts things online.

[00:07:30]Really, by the show of fingers, when President Trump says something or posts something online, who thinks most of the time he's credible?

[00:07:47]>> None of you. when you post on Twitter and whatever other platforms he's on, it's just not credible when you post on these type of social media platforms for president.

[00:07:59]>> Okay. And why isn't it credible?

[00:08:01]>> Just because there's a lot of phony news and phony things on on social media.

[00:08:05]It's for like the young people to be posting on that type of stuff, not a president.

[00:08:10]>> It's just the way he he posts his opinions. I think I I think it's the way he goes about it. Um there's nothing behind it. There's nothing that follows it. It's just like you guys are terrible and that's it.

[00:08:26]There's not you guys are terrible because of all the fraud that you did.

[00:08:32]You know, there's nothing behind the opinion that supports the opinion. I'm going to say I'm thinking a large percentage of the things that he posts online, I think he may be doing it for shock factor just to stir things up.

[00:08:53]Um because I'm sure he's got a lot of people around him speaking in his ear telling him you should or should not post that or what kind of things he should post. But sometimes I think he does it just just to see what kind of reaction it'll get.

[00:09:12]And I think there are people behind the scenes monitoring to see how it goes over.

[00:09:19]>> I would say 75% of it's not credible, especially if it has something to do with Iran because he's trying to project strength and a little bit of craziness right now. So like I feel like 80% of what he's posting is just to try to scare them. So it's not necessarily true. Like just yesterday he was like they better get their stuff tomorrow cuz we're going to bomb limited oblivion.

[00:09:39]Meanwhile he's probably like please back down. Please back down.

[00:09:43]>> How will these respondents feelings about President Trump translate into their likely voting behavior in the midterms? 10 of the 12 say they are very likely to vote in November, but only two say Trump will influence their vote and not in ways that were clearly discernible.

[00:10:02]Let me be clear. Most of these swing voters are not voting in order to lodge support for or opposition to the president and his policies. This became clear in my exchange with Joshua.

[00:10:16]Joshua, so you disapprove of Trump overall, right?

[00:10:27]Um you're very likely to vote and Trump will not affect your vote.

[00:10:34]Either way, explain that to me. Why? Why not?

[00:10:37]>> It's about the candidates, not the party. I would go ahead and like do my research on the candidates themselves.

[00:10:46]See you where they are, see what they are doing, see what they've done. That would help me determine if I'm going to vote for them or not. It's not about um the president himself.

[00:10:59]But >> so even if I disapprove of the president doesn't mean I would disapprove of someone else even in the same party.

[00:11:07]>> But hold on a second. Some would say that if you're voting for, let's say, a senator who is going to have a lot of power in Congress that if you vote for a Republican, they're going to continue to advance Trump's agenda, especially if Trump endorsed them.

[00:11:24]And if you vote for a Democrat, they could really get in the way of Trump's agenda. So why isn't that a big consideration when you plan to vote for somebody in November?

[00:11:33]>> Everybody has an agenda. It doesn't matter if you're a Republican or Democrat, there's always an agenda. But for me, it's about the person themselves. I understand that my vote might has an implication down the line on a bigger scheme of things. But my focus is my constituency is where I live at is where I'm living. I understand that even if I vote for a Republican, it might lead to Trump having a more sway over >> things on the federal level. But I have to do what I have to do which is coming down to a lower level which is closer to my home and making sure that the person I'm voting for is something that I've someone I've vetted myself and I know that okay he is who he says he is and he's going to at least with the hope of doing what he said he's going to do.

[00:12:26]>> And then there was Vivian. Vivian, you said you're not very likely to vote, but you disapprove of Trump.

[00:12:36]So, one might wonder, if you're so unhappy with Trump, why aren't you going to go out and vote for a Democrat just to get in Trump's way?

[00:12:44]>> I had just about lost all respect for the Democratic process. You know, I just think Elon Mus is just going to buy the whole thing. So, you know, I I don't know. I just I just lost all faith in in our um in our system, our democratic system, democracy.

[00:13:08]>> Okay. So, you are you done voting now going forward? Are you like you're you're you're fed up and just you're not going to vote anymore?

[00:13:13]>> Well, I would probably vote for president next go around, but um yeah, I see what you're saying about I should go in and vote all Democrat to to try to make the uh the House and Senate stronger. So, yeah, I hadn't thought about that, but yeah, I probably should.

[00:13:30]>> So, I'm not suggesting it. I'm merely asking you why it didn't cross your mind before I raised it with you.

[00:13:35]>> Because I never I never voted in the in the smaller elections. I just always voted president, the presidential ones, you know. I had had never had a reason to you, you know, I had never really known about politics until recently. I'm I'm in um in college and you I had to take a class on the American government and and I learn how you know the vote and how it affects and you know the number of uh seats that they get in the House and in the Senate. You know, I didn't know anything about it before, but yeah, it all makes sense now. Yeah, I I probably should do that. The conflict with Iran remains a major concern for these seven independents, four Republicans, and one Democrat.

[00:14:21]Here's how the current situation makes them feel.

[00:14:25]>> Very angry, >> scared, fearful, >> frustrated.

[00:14:29]>> I was going to say frustrated as well.

[00:14:31]>> Edgy at times.

[00:14:34]>> Waste of money and resources. Concerned and sad.

[00:14:38]>> Scary.

[00:14:39]>> Terrified.

[00:14:40]>> Mad.

[00:14:42]frustrated that we're back over there again.

[00:14:45]>> So, what would they advise President Trump to do next?

[00:14:49]>> I would like to see some more negotiations. I'd like to see him a little more open-minded and not prepare to put Vice President Vance on a plane and then two hours later say, "Nope, we're not going to do that after all."

[00:15:06]>> Basically, three words, finish the job.

[00:15:09]Uh Trump's been talking about, you know, giving him more time, giving him more time, you know, extending this, extending that. Let's finish the job.

[00:15:16]>> By a show of fingers, how many of you would say that finish the job means getting all the nuclear material out of Iran?

[00:15:28]All six of you. Okay. So, let me ask you this followup. If all the if the nuclear material is not out of Iran, how many of you consider that a failure?

[00:15:40]Show of fingers.

[00:15:44]All six of you. On this war, he's either going to have to really step it up or get out.

[00:15:51]But I fear that if he steps it up, I'm afraid that the real backer behind Iran is China.

[00:16:03]And that's the biggest fear. Um I don't think we want to go to war with China.

[00:16:10]>> I'm scared because of we are not ready for China. We do not have the the n the armed forces we had during World War II.

[00:16:20]We are not anywhere near that now. And if we go against China, I got a bad feeling we are not gonna come out of that so pretty. And if that's who backs them, which it probably will be them or Russia, we've got our hands over full. We can't do that.

[00:16:38]>> We heard a related hesitancy in the other session.

[00:16:42]>> Try to negotiate, but I think it's too late for that. I don't think he I think it's gone too far. figure out a way to stop the war.

[00:16:51]>> You guys want a negotiation? You want to stop the war?

[00:16:56]>> How How do you get Iran to give up its its nuclear material?

[00:17:00]>> Give them something else.

[00:17:04]>> Well, what do they want?

[00:17:05]>> I don't know. That's why I said needs to figure it out.

[00:17:08]>> Show of fingers. If Iran ends up with nuclear material that could be used for a bomb, how many of you would describe that as a failure on the part of the United States?

[00:17:18]We'll see it.

[00:17:21]So, five of you.

[00:17:28]How many of you trust that President Trump will actually get Iran to give up its nuclear material?

[00:17:42]None of you. Show of fingers. Who thinks who trusts him to get Iran to be successful in getting Iran to give up its nuclear material?

[00:17:52]>> So none of you are confident he can do that >> at this point. He they're not going to give it up. You know, he's going to have to go take it and take force. That's the only way it's going to end.

[00:18:03]>> How is that going to work? You're Are you okay with sending in uh US troops?

[00:18:08]>> No, I'm not okay with that. But at this point, I don't think he's going to back down. I don't think they're gonna just give they're just gonna go ahead and give it to him, you know, and say, "Okay, we're gonna stop all this, you know, creation of all these the nuclear material. We're just going to give it to you." So, he's going to have to really go in there and >> do what?

[00:18:30]>> Take control.

[00:18:32]>> Take a what?

[00:18:33]>> Take control. He's going to have to He's not going to back down.

[00:18:37]>> Finally, let's pivot to AI. Swing voters see both the upsides and downsides, but the existential risks are not top of mind. When I asked, "What is the worst thing about AI?" They said this.

[00:18:53]>> I would say trusting AI to be correct only to figure out it is wrong.

[00:18:59]>> Uh AI to misinterpret. There is a um an app that people like to use to hear about um fire, police, and EMS calls and AI totally spits out the wrong information because they don't know the the proper terms and codes and it creates a panic in local communities for people using using this particular program that uses AI.

[00:19:27]>> AI can can write a song, write the vocals, write the music and everything.

[00:19:31]And uh uh it just it's it's scary when when you think about, you know, the singers and songwriters that are still out there trying to trying to make it big and and and create material for everybody else to listen to.

[00:19:45]>> When the system becomes more intelligent than the person that created it, there's an issue. And >> got it.

[00:19:52]>> It's already more intelligent than most of the United States >> of large sectors of jobs. And it's teaching an entire generation they don't need to think um have original thoughts think critically because AI is going to do it for you.

[00:20:10]>> I think it's making people dumber.

[00:20:12]>> They don't take the time to research.

[00:20:15]>> They don't take the time. Kids don't know how to read. They don't know how to even write. They use AI.

[00:20:20]>> People are going to lose their jobs.

[00:20:22]We then showed a one- minute video snippet of a commencement speech where the speaker referenced AI and was shocked when she got booed. Here's how one respondent reacted.

[00:20:35]>> I don't know why she would be surprised.

[00:20:38]I mean, to go up there in front of a graduating class that's about ready to go out in the work field and and and start a career and basically say, you know, a AI is is the the next best thing. I just I don't know. It it it it floored me. Um, you know, and then and then the fact that uh you know, when she talked about, you know, AI wasn't what it what it used to be in a nutshell and uh you know, the the the kids started clapping and everything, it I thought it was kind of cool because, you know, not everybody is on board thinks that that AI is the the latest and greatest. We then played a second clip, a twominute excerpt from a Bill Maher monologue describing the existential risk AI poses. Nine of the 12 respondents said that prior to the clip, they were familiar with the idea AI could wipe out humanity. But just five knew that leaders in the field were publicly warning that AI could have that catastrophic impact. When I asked what should happen next to deal with those risks, we heard this.

[00:21:44]>> I don't know that there's anything that can happen because the problem is every country is trying to get to it first. They they have to have the biggest and best because whoever controls AI controls the world who they control the people. So everybody's rushing to see who can get to it. And by the time, like he said, by the time we realize that it's too late, it's way too late.

[00:22:07]I don't know what you can do now.

[00:22:10]>> What should happen? I feel like we should just shut it down, but it's it's not going to happen. So, in lie of that, I feel like there should be almost be like a global AI council. This is I feel like this is something every country needs to get on board with the same regulations across the world. Be like, hey, have the freedom to develop with AI, but we we all need to know there's a push red button in case of emergency that's going to work. Okay, how many of you are with Steve on that global AI council to regulate all this globally? Show of fingers. Who supports it?

[00:22:45]>> Oh, thanks guys. Appreciate that.

[00:22:46]>> By a show of fingers, how many of you would like to see a global AI council where all the c all the countries in the in in the planet working on AI are represented that will figure out how to coordinate this issue given all the challenges that that we're facing on a global level. Who would like to see a global AI council to work on this? All six of you. Two other quick points on AI. All but one respondent would like to see the Trump administration be proactive and forwardleaning on dealing with AI and the risks that it poses. And interestingly, only one respondent viewed data centers negatively, and that was for excessive water consumption.

[00:23:29]Thank you for joining us again this month. Please forward this link to a friend and please join us again next month.