Frank Luntz explains why he's angry with Democrats after Trump's address
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Boston Globe
4 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
These are the voters who should scare Democrats most
In dozens of interviews, working-class swing voters said they had misgivings about the Trump presidency -- but many also said they were just as skeptical of the Democratic Party. Five years ago, Raymond Teachey voted, as usual, for the Democratic presidential nominee. But by last fall, Teachey, an aircraft mechanic from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, was rethinking his political allegiances. To him, the Democratic Party seemed increasingly focused on issues of identity at the expense of more tangible day-to-day concerns, such as public safety or the economy. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'Some of them turned their back on their base,' Teachey, 54, said. Advertisement Working-class voters like Teachey, who supported Biden in 2020 but either backed Trump last year or, as Teachey did, skipped the 2024 presidential election, help explain why Democrats lost pivotal swing counties like Bucks and vividly illustrate how the traditional Democratic coalition has eroded in the Trump era. Now, Democrats hope to bring these voters back into the fold for the midterm elections in 2026, betting on a backlash to Trump and his party's far-reaching moves to slash the social safety net. Sarah Smarty, a home health aide and an author who voted for Joe Biden in 2020 but flipped to President Trump last year, in Mifflin County, Penn. HANNAH YOON/NYT But in interviews with nearly 30 predominantly working-class voters who supported Biden in 2020 before defecting or struggling deeply with their choices last year, many had a stinging message for the Democratic Party. Advertisement Just because we have misgivings about Trump, they say, it doesn't mean we like you. 'I think I'm done with the Democrats,' said Desmond Smith, 24, a deli worker from Smithdale, Mississippi, and a Black man who said he backed Biden in 2020 at the height of the racial justice protests. But last year, disillusioned by what he saw as the party's overemphasis on identity politics and concerned about illegal immigration, he voted for Trump. Asked how Democrats could win him back, he said, 'Fight for Americans instead of fighting for everybody else.' An in-depth postelection study from Pew Research Center suggests that about 5% of Biden's voters in 2020 switched to Trump in 2024, while roughly 15% of those voters stayed home last year. Trump retained more of his 2020 voters than Democrats did, a crucial factor in winning the election. Polling on the current attitudes of those Biden defectors is limited, but it is clear the Democratic brand, broadly, continues to struggle. A Wall Street Journal poll released in late July found that the party's image was at its lowest point in more than three decades, with just 33% of voters saying they held a favorable view of Democrats. 'They're doing nothing to move their own numbers because they don't have an economic message,' said John Anzalone, a veteran Democratic pollster who worked on that survey. 'They think that this is about Trump's numbers getting worse,' he added. 'They need to worry about their numbers.' Certainly, anger with Trump, an energized Democratic base and the headwinds a president's party typically confronts in midterm elections could help propel Democrats to victory next year. Advertisement Democrats have had some recruitment success (and luck), and they see growing openings to argue that Trump's domestic agenda helps the wealthy at the expense of the working class, a message they are already beginning to push in advertising. There is no top-of-the-ticket national Democrat to defend or avoid, while Republicans have virtually no room to distance themselves from Trump's least popular ideas. But interviews with the voters whom Democrats are most desperate to reclaim also suggest that the party's challenges could extend well beyond next year's races. Here are five takeaways from those conversations. Biden's disastrous reelection bid fueled a trust issue. It hasn't gone away. Bielski, 35, an executive chef at a private club, said he had typically voted for Democrats until last year's presidential election, when he backed Trump. Democratic leaders had insisted that the plainly frail Biden was vigorous enough to run, and they had encouraged skeptical voters to fall in line. Instantly after he dropped out, they urged Democrats to unite behind the candidacy of Kamala Harris, who was then the vice president. That did not sit right with Bielski, who said he was already distrustful of Democrats who had pushed pandemic-era lockdowns. Harris, he said, 'wasn't someone that I got to vote for in a primary.' 'It almost seemed wrong,' continued Bielski, who lives in Phoenix. 'It was kind of like, OK, the same people that were just running the country are now telling us that this is the person that we should vote for.' After Harris became the Democratic nominee, some voters interpreted her meandering answers in televised interviews as an unwillingness to be straight with them. By contrast, while Trump gave outlandish and rambling public remarks riddled with conspiracy theories and lies, some said they had gotten the general sense that he wanted to tackle the cost of living and curb illegal immigration. Advertisement 'It was difficult to understand what her point of view was,' said Bruce Gamble, 67, a retired substation maintainer for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. Gamble said he voted for Biden in 2020 and Trump last year. Trump 'was able to communicate better to me,' he added, while Harris 'felt like she was talking over my head, so I didn't quite trust her.' Raymond Teachey, an aircraft mechanic in Bristol, Penn. HANNAH YOON/NYT Worried about paying the bills, they saw Democrats as too focused on cultural issues. Many in this multiracial group of voters said they thought Democrats had gone too far in promoting transgender rights or in emphasizing matters of racial identity. But often, they were more bothered by their perception that those discussions had come at the expense of addressing economic anxieties. 'It seemed like they were more concerned with DEI and LGBTQ issues and really just things that didn't pertain to me or concern me at all,' said Kendall Wood, 32, a truck driver from Henrico County, Virginia. He said he voted for Trump last year after backing Biden in 2020. 'They weren't concerned with, really, kitchen-table issues.' A poll from The New York Times and Ipsos conducted this year found that many Americans did not believe that the Democratic Party was focused on the economic issues that mattered most to them. 'Maybe talk about real-world problems,' said Maya Garcia, 23, a restaurant server from the San Fernando Valley in California. She said she voted for Biden in 2020 and did not vote for president last year. Democrats talk 'a lot about us emotionally, but what are we going to do financially?' Advertisement She added, 'I understand that you want, you know, equal rights and things like that. But I feel like we need to talk more about the economics.' But in a warning sign for Republicans, a recent CNN poll found that a growing share of Americans -- 63% -- felt as if Trump had not paid enough attention to the country's most important problems. Marlon Flores, a technician at a car dealership in Houston. DESIREE RIOS/NYT 'America First' gained new resonance amid wars abroad. As wars raged in the Middle East and Ukraine, some working-class voters thought the Biden administration cared more about events abroad than about the problems in their communities. 'They were funding in other countries, while we do not have the money to fund ourselves,' said Smarty, 33, a home health aide and an author. She said she voted for Biden in 2020 and Trump in 2024, adding that she viewed Trump as a man of action. 'I would really like to see more jobs,' she said. 'I would like to see them take good care of people who are homeless in our area.' Bielski said that against the backdrop of overseas turmoil, Trump's 'America First' message resonated. But these days, he does not think Trump is living up to that mantra. 'We're getting into more stuff abroad and not really focusing on economics here,' he said. 'It doesn't seem like he's holding true to anything that he's promised.' Flores, 22, a technician at a car dealership, said the foreign policy emphasis -- and a sense that life was tough regardless of the party in power -- helped explain why he skipped last year's election as well as the 2020 presidential race. Advertisement 'No matter how many times have we gone red, or even blue, the blue-collar workers' have seen little progress, Flores said. President Trump at the White House on Aug. 11. Alex Brandon/Associated Press They worry about illegal immigration. But some think Trump's crackdowns are going too far. These voters often said they agreed with Trump on the need to stem the flow of illegal immigration and strengthen border security. But some worried about the administration's crackdown, which has resulted in sweeping raids, children being separated from their parents, the deportation of American citizens and a growing sense of fear in immigrant communities. Several people interviewed said they knew people who had been personally affected. Smarty, for instance, said her friend's husband, who had lived in the United States for 25 years, had suddenly been deported to Mexico. Her friend is 'going through some health problems, and they have kids, and that's really hard on their family,' Smarty said. 'I don't really feel that's exactly right.' They're not done with every Democrat. But they're tired of the old guard. Many of the voters interviewed said they remained open to supporting Democrats -- or at least the younger ones. 'Stop being friggin' old,' said Cinnamon Boffa, 57, from Langhorne, Pennsylvania. As she recalled, she supported Biden in 2020 but voted only downballot last year, lamenting that 'our choices suck.' Teachey thought there was still room for seasoned politicians, but in many cases, it was time to get 'the boomers out of there.' He is increasingly inclined to support Democrats next year to check unfettered Republican power. 'They're totally far right,' he said of the GOP. 'Honestly, I don't identify with any party.' This article originally appeared in
Associated Press
5 minutes ago
- Associated Press
North Korean and Russian leaders reaffirm their alignment over Ukraine
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone call to discuss their deepening ties and war efforts against Ukraine, the countries' state media said Wednesday, ahead of Putin's planned meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska. Putin during the call on Tuesday praised the 'bravery, heroism and self-sacrificing spirit' displayed by North Korean troops as they fought with Russian forces to repel a Ukrainian incursion into Russia's Kursk border region, North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said. Putin also shared with Kim information about his upcoming talks with Trump scheduled to take place Friday in Alaska, according to Russia's TASS news agency, citing the Kremlin. The North Korean reports did not mention the Trump meeting. Kim told Putin that Pyongyang will fully support 'all measures to be taken by the Russian leadership in the future, too,' as they discussed advancing ties in 'all fields' under a strategic partnership agreement they signed during a summit last year, KCNA said. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Kim has made Moscow the priority of his foreign policy as he aims to break out of diplomatic isolation and expand relations with countries confronting Washington. His government has dismissed Washington and Seoul's stated desires to restart diplomacy aimed at defusing the North's nuclear program, which derailed in 2019 following a collapsed summit with Trump during his first term. According to South Korean assessments, North Korea has sent around 15,000 troops to Russia since last fall and also supplied large quantities of military equipment, including artillery and ballistic missiles, in support of Putin's war efforts against Ukraine. Kim has also agreed to send thousands of military construction workers and deminers to Russia's Kursk region, a deployment South Korean intelligence believes could happen soon.
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Nigerian Oil Stands to Gain as India Shies Away From Russian Crude
A week ago, U.S. President Donald Trump came down hard on India, doubling its tariff rate from 25% to 50% for fueling Putin's war in Ukraine by continuing to buy massive quantities of Russian oil. We reported that India's imports of Russian commodities have skyrocketed since the war began, surging to $65.7 billion in 2024 from $8.25 billion in 2021, according to India's The Business Standard. In sharp contrast, imports by the European Union and the U.S. have declined by more than 80% as they look to choke Russia's war machine. And now India has rapidly moved to distance itself from Moscow, turning to Africa and other suppliers as it goes into a buying frenzy. In recent weeks, Indian refiners have purchased two million barrels of Nigerian crude for September and October delivery; one million barrels of Angola's Girassol, three million barrels of Abu Dhabi Murban, and a million barrels of U.S. Mars. Interestingly, India is returning to the spot market, with Punch reporting that state refiner Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) has made spot purchases and also negotiated for September deliveries. Over the past couple of years, India has become the biggest buyer of discounted Russian crude, accounting for 40% of its total imports at its peak in 2024. This was enough to meet India's surging oil demand and keep it off the spot might be the beginning of a long-term relationship between India and Nigeria, thanks to the low sulfur content of Nigerian crude grades, making them ideal for India's refineries. However, India will now have to contend with Africa's largest refinery–the Dangote Refinery. According to Devakumar Edwin, vice president Dangote Industries, the giant refinery will buy 100% of its crude from the Nigerian market by the end of the current year, a reversal from its earlier trend of buying most of its crude from the United States, Brazil, Equatorial Guinea, Angola and Ghana. Owned by Nigeria's and Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote, the 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery began operations in 2024 after repeated delays. Ranked as having a higher capacity than Europe's largest refineries, the $20-billion refinery now produces diesel, gasoline, aviation fuel and naphtha. Though yet to ramp up operations to full capacity, the Dangote refinery has been a major milestone for Nigeria and Africa's energy sector, transforming Africa's largest oil producer into a net exporter of petroleum products. However, the refinery was initially forced to rely on large volumes of imported crude, with local traders unable to meet its demand. Thankfully, improving coordination between the refinery, the Nigerian government and local oil traders has made the supply of domestic crude more consistent and reliable. Last month, Dangote refinery purchased 53% of its crude from Nigerian producers, with 47% coming from the United States. According to Edwin, the plant is currently processing ~550,000 barrels of crude per day, good for 84.6% of its maximum capacity. India is also looking to break China's dominance in rare earths supply, recently establishing cooperation agreements with mineral-rich countries in Latin America, Asi,a and Africa shortly after China further restricted the export of REE in 2024. "In the interest of developing bilateral cooperation with countries having rich mineral resources, the Ministry of Mines has entered into bilateral agreements with the governments of several countries, including Australia, Argentina, Zambia, Peru, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, and Côte D'Ivoire, as well as international organizations such as the International Energy Agency (IEA)," India's Minister of State for Atomic Energy, Jitendra Singh, said in a written statement. Still, India has adopted a recalcitrant tone, vowing to continue buying Russia's crude, two sources previously told Reuters."These are long-term oil contracts. It is not so simple to just stop buying overnight,'' one of the sources said. A second source tried to justify India's imports of Russian crude, claiming it had helped to avert a surge in global oil prices. The source also pointed out that, unlike the situation in other heavily sanctioned countries like Iran and Venezuela, Russian crude is currently not subject to direct sanctions, and India was only buying from the embattled country because it offered cheaper oil thus shaving billions of dollars off its energy bill every year. Well, this might actually be India's official position: According to India's foreign ministry, India has maintained a "steady and time-tested partnership" with Russia. "On our energy sourcing requirements ... we look at what is available in the markets, what is there on offer, and also what is the prevailing global situation or circumstances," he said. By Alex Kimani for More Top Reads From this article on
