The Focus Group Podcast

More and more Trump voters are souring on his administration. But why? Inflation, immigration, and Epstein are all in the mix, but there's a giant mosaic of disappointments. We needed a second qualitative researcher to make sense of it all. Democratic pollster Margie Omero joins the show to discuss what she's heard in her own focus groups, listen to Trump voters who are down on his job performance, and check in with the Democratic base.
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Margie's focus groups:
Trump’s Problems With Latinos Go Deeper Than the Economy
14 Wellness Voters Talk Parenting, MAHA and Social Media

Why are Gen Z men drifting right while Gen Z women move left? And why do right-wing zoomers think the gender gap is so wide? Sarah Longwell talks with the newest Bulwark contributor Rachel Janfaza, founder of The Up and Up, to analyze new focus groups of Gen Z Trump voters. They also get into these voters' Trump fatigue on foreign policy, why a future JD Vance presidential run isn't appealing, and whether these voters could ever date someone across the political divide.
The Bulwark is heading to Minneapolis, and then to Texas. Get your tickets at https://TheBulwark.com/Events.
Show notes:
Rachel in Vox: The quiet reason why Trump is losing Gen Z
From November 2025: Rachel Janfaza on The Focus Group Podcast

We saw an ICE officer kill an American citizen for the second time in less than three weeks. This time, it was harder for some of the voters we talked to to make an excuse for it. Bulwark immigration correspondent Adrian Carrasquillo returns to the show to discuss his reporting and listen to voters' raw reactions to what they're seeing in the news.
Show notes:
The abhorrent power of the photograph of a 5-year-old held by ICE
By Adrian Carrasquillo:
Why a Scared 5-Year-Old Boy Shook Our National Conscience
Portraits of the Minneapolis Resistance
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Some strange, under-the-radar things are happening on the right. Marco Rubio is experiencing a strange rehabilitation with the Republican base, and some young men are excited about taxing OnlyFans. Meanwhile, JD Vance is still on the struggle bus with swing voters, especially women. Will Sommer, The Bulwark’s right-wing fever swamp correspondent, joins Sarah to break down the growing rift between the MAGA establishment and the America First wing—and what it means for 2028.
By Will Sommer:
MAGA Influencers Cheered Trump’s Venezuela War. Their Audience Said ‘WTF?!’
Meet the First Groyper Politician

There's a lot of bad news right now—so much that none of it is breaking through that much to the voters we talked to. From the ICE killing of Renee Good to the Epstein files to the criminal investigation into Jerome Powell, Bulwark editor-at-large Bill Kristol joins Sarah for a reflective conversation on the tough times we live in and how voters are processing them.
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Previous shows discussing the Epstein Files:
With Will Sommer (November 2025)
With Ashley Parker (September 2025)
With Will Sommer (July 2025)