Battleground state voters talk Clinton, Trump
With barely more than two weeks until Election Day, how do battleground state voters feel about the candidates and the election outcome?
“Face the Nation” host John Dickerson spoke with a group of voters in Nevada after last week’s presidential debate in Las Vegas.
Asked about Trump’s suggestion at that debate that he would not commit to accepting the results of the election, the focus group participants were split on whether he had a valid point.
“If I was in his position and there was any -- any question about the validity of the votes I believe the voting system is corrupt, I believe the politicians are corrupt, I believe the Congress is corrupt,” said Kimberly.
Others, though, felt that Trump would come around in the end.
“He will accept it,” Ed said. “Mr. Trump is a very successful businessman. He -- knows how to operate.”
Asked whether the system is “rigged” as Trump has suggested, Ed said it’s not. “I don’t think it’s rigged,” he said. “I think it can be improved on.”
Kimberly said she didn’t think Trump is “interested in winning.”
“I really don’t,” she said. “He’s gonna start a media empire after this with all the people he’s met and surrounded himself with.”
Another panelist, John, agreed.
“He’s not gonna quit. I think he’s gonna fight ‘till the end,” he said. “But he’s already planning next phase which is Trump TV at some point.”
Responding to the long-standing questions about Hillary Clinton’s trustworthiness, one woman in the focus group said Clinton is “well-seasoned” and can be trusted to know how to govern if she’s elected.
“If I were a patient going into have life-changing surgery do I want the doctor who is well-seasoned and have done this surgery many, many times before?” Korie said. “Or do I wanna take my chance on the rookie who’s just coming out of, you know, school and doesn’t have the knowledge or the experience, you know, in doing something like that.”
Another woman, Kimberly, continued the analogy by saying Trump is like a doctor with new, “groundbreaking” medical training that is more revolutionary than what other doctors are doing.
“Something different and something groundbreaking and revolutionary. My-- that happened to my husband. He had an ankle replacement. We saw nine doctors before we could find one,” she said. “And many of ‘em were experienced doctors...They flat-out refused to do it. And we found a doctor who tried something new and tried something different. And my husband’s walking. He has a limp but he’s walking.”
How will these participants feel if Clinton wins the presidency next month?
“I’lI respect the office,” said Ed. “I do not respect her.”
Barbara replied that Clinton “needs prayer.”
“The country always needs prayer,” she said.
John said he believes Clinton will “be able to negotiate with the Congress to get things done with [House Speaker Paul] Ryan and -- and [Senate Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell.”
And if Trump wins?
“I hope he finds really good people to surround himself with and keep himself in check,” Kimberly said. “And I have hope.”
Korie, however, quipped: “I’m moving off the grid.”
