Iowa Republicans discuss role of politics in their lives, hopes for overcoming divisions

Read the Full Transcript

• Geoff Bennett:

  Throughout this year, Judy Woodruff has been examining divisions across the country.

  For her latest story, she listened in on focus groups in Iowa with two-time Trump voters as they talked about how they feel about the state of the nation, the divisiveness they see, and who they feel is responsible for it.

  A note, we have chosen not to include the participants' full names after some received harassing calls following an earlier story.

  This story was produced with our friends at Iowa PBS and is part of Judy's ongoing series America at a Crossroads.

• Allan, Republican Voter:

  I definitely think the country's headed in the wrong direction, and, unfortunately, I think we're on that downhill slide, that I'm not sure it can be turned around.

• Judy Woodruff:

  That was a common feeling among the 16 two-time Trump voters. We gathered recently studio of Iowa PBS in Johnston for a pair of focus groups led by Republican strategist and pollster Sarah Longwell.

• Brent, Trump Voter:

  In Iowa, we have a great governor, we have great leadership. However, when you look at the country as a whole, it just seems like everybody has said. The country's just going down the tubes.

• Ron, Republican Voter:

  I agree with all the different economics and all that, but we are so polarized that we can't come to common ground.

• Matt, Republican Voter:

  It almost feels a little bit like a civil war.

• Judy Woodruff:

  Following the panels, I sat down with Longwell, who conducts focus groups with both Republicans and Democrats, to talk through what we heard.

• Sarah Longwell, Longwell Partners:

  Mainly, the things that you hear — and I hear this all the time from Republicans — is they really feel like the country is going in the wrong direction.

  They want a Republican back in power very badly.

• Judy Woodruff:

  In terms of these Republican voters and their view of how divided the country is, what came across to you the most about that?

• Sarah Longwell:

  Well, everybody does think we're divided. That is clear in the focus groups we did tonight and in the focus groups I do all the time.

  People are — they talk about things like a national divorce or a civil war. They feel like we're at each other's throats.

  How Many of you think we're very divided? Raise your hands if you think we're an extremely divided country. Whose fault do you think it is that we're so divided?

• Woman:

  The media.

• Sophia, Republican Voter:

  The media, for sure.

• Woman:

  Yes.

  (Crosstalk)

• Woman:

  And the politicians.

• Woman:

  The politicians.

• Sophia:

  And they perpetuate the hate. I mean, they do it on purpose. They have an agenda, and it is to divide. And that's what they seek and that's what they're doing.

• Woman:

  That's how they get ratings. That's how they get money.

• Sophia:

  Exactly, because that's where the money is.

• Sarah Longwell:

  And I'm curious, where are you getting your information? Like, where are you — what are you watching? What are you reading? What are you listening to?

• Sonya, Republican Voter:

  I watch BlazeTV and FOX News, and I have TRUTH Social. And I'm all over Twitter. And I watch Channel 13, NBC, all the time.

• Sarah Longwell:

  News junkie.

• Sonya:

  I like to know what's going on.

• Peter, Republican Voter:

  Clay Travis and Buck Sexton took over Rush Limbaugh's show. They are good. I mean, these guys, they look into things, they know things.

  Sean Hannity is really good also.

• RON:

  I think I'm smart enough to understand when I'm being Manipulated, all right? So, all I have to say is, I read everything. I listen to everything, and then, what goes in, what goes out, and then I just make up my own decision.

• Keven, Republican Voter:

  I'm going to blame the media and also social media. I think back like 10 years ago, 15 years ago, we didn't — it didn't seem so divided. And it's driven me to seek out different news sources now to get my news, so I can compare, like Real America's Voice and Newsmax.

  (Crosstalk)

• Sarah Longwell:

  What about you, Mary?

• Mary, Republican Voter:

  So, I was — I agree with what you were saying.

  So social media is a huge thing, in my opinion, because you don't have a personal relationship with the people mostly online. Or like what I would say to you right now in person would be completely different than what I might way on social media.

• Sarah Longwell:

  So it sounds like you guys blame the media, social media for the division.

  How do you feel about Democrats in general?

• Mary:

  Generally, any time that there's a fight between two people, there's never usually one side that's like 100 percent right. It's always somewhere in the middle.

  And so I'm not ever going to say like, this side's completely right and this side's completely wrong.

• Sarah Longwell:

  Do you guys have friends and family who are Democrats?

• Man:

  Oh, yes.

• Woman:

  Yes.

• Man:

  Yes.

  (Crosstalk)

• Man:

  Yes.

• Sarah Longwell:

  And how does that — how do you do with that? Is it tense? Can you talk to each other? Is it — how is it?

• Keven:

  Recently spent some time with some relatives that are Democrat, and you really can't talk about Trump or Republicans in that house. I mean, it's just you know tread lightly there.

• Danielle, Republican Voter:

  My closest inner circle is mostly like-minded. They vote Republican or pretty conservative.

  But, outside of that, I try to avoid conversations, because they're just never productive. No one's changing anyone's mind.

• Judy Woodruff:

  I did hear them say that they blame the media.

  I also heard them say that they were reluctant to bring up their views with people who disagree with them politically, for fear that they would be criticized, they would be called out.

• Sarah Longwell:

  Yes, I do hear this all the time, people feeling like they can't talk about their support for President Trump or can't say that they're a Republican without fear of being shouted down.

  I think that both parties, members of both parties, sort of feel like it's really hot out there, and when you sort of wear your politics on your sleeve, that it's inviting a kind of combative experience. And I think they feel like a real difference from how people used to be able to sort of agree to disagree maybe 10 15 years ago.

• Judy Woodruff:

  Yes.

• Sarah Longwell:

  And now they feel like it gets really personal really fast.

• Judy Woodruff:

  Another key division was over questions of faith and what it means for people's politics.

• Sarah Longwell:

  Do you believe that it's possible to be very liberal, very progressive, but also be of deep Christian faith?

• Man:

  No.

• Sophia:

  No. No.

• Sarah Longwell:

  Tell me more. Go ahead.

• Sophia:

  You can't. Life is, well, very important. And if you're a liberal, then you are pro-choice, and then you believe that it's OK to kill a baby.

  And I don't believe that you can believe that and be a real Christian.

• Sarah Longwell:

  What do you think?

• Amanda, Republican Voter:

  Technically, I guess you could be, but that would mean you're not, I don't know, allowing God's love to be in you as much and stuff.

• Ramona, Republican Voter:

  So, I don't think that the Democrats — and I hate to say it like that. I hate to segregate the party. They have too Many, yes, but what if? Yes, but what if I don't feel like a girl?

  So, whatever, God — so, God made me a boy, but I don't feel like a boy, and so I'm going to change that. It's just messing with creation. It's just messing with the absolute.

  So, when Joe Biden — I know he's a Catholic. Do you think that he's not Catholic?

• Peter:

  I mean, you just — in your original question, God is more of a God of just love. He's a God of right and wrong. He's a God of truth. He's a God of righteousness.

  I mean, you can't be liberal and be far left on beliefs and then say, oh, I'm a Christian. Well, you can say it. That's the — that's the worst thing. People do say it.

• Judy Woodruff:

  There were strong views expressed about whether it's possible to be a Democrat, to be liberal, and have a strong Christian faith. It's almost a barrier.

• Sarah Longwell:

  Yes, people can be really paradoxical. They can sort of express one thing in thinking about it one way and then express sort of the complete opposite if they're thinking about something else in a different frame.

  You could hear on one hand people saying, well, I'd really like us to get along more, and I want us to have shared values and have these good conversations. And then you would also hear them say, but I don't think that you can be a real Christian and be a progressive. They didn't think those things were compatible.

• Judy Woodruff:

  When it came to the idea of their children marrying someone of the opposite party, feelings were mixed.

• Sarah Longwell:

  Would any of you or all of you be OK if your child married a Democrat?

• Ramona:

  My child did marry a Democrat, a Democrat lawyer.

  (Laughter)

• Ramona:

  It didn't go well.

• Sarah Longwell:

  Is it still not going well?

• Ramona:

  No. We are estranged.

• Sarah Longwell:

  Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.

• Ramona:

  Yes. Yes.

• Brent:

  My daughters are both very liberal, which pains me, but I support them and their beliefs and try to have conversations with them about what I believe and why I believe that way.

  And so — but I don't try to change them. I just let them know how I believe and why I believe that way. But if they choose to marry a Democrat, I will support them 100 percent.

• Brian, Republican Voter:

  And that, in itself, is the root issue.

• Judy Woodruff:

  And there was even some pushback to our framing of some of these questions along partisan lines.

• Brian:

  We're all made in the image of God. We're all valued by the creator. Why are we dividing Democrat and Republican? Like, my mom's a liberal Democrat. And I work in something completely different, and we have the most loving relationship.

  It's because I don't identify by our relationship based on Democrat, Republican.

• Sarah Longwell:

  Yes.

• Brian:

  And I think that's the problem in the country.

• Sarah Longwell:

  Yes.

  One of the things about doing the focus groups across the political spectrum every week now for years is, oftentimes, Americans are closer on a number of things than you might think, and people tend to overestimate how different the other side is from them or at how mad they would be.

  And some of this comes down to the fact that we are now geographically very segregated as a country. We are — tend to have bluer cities and redder sort of rural areas.

• Judy Woodruff:

  Yes.

• Sarah Longwell:

  And so the less people talk to each other, the less they have a really good frame of reference for how somebody might actually think.

  Oftentimes, people are a little more tolerant, and they want us to get along. Like, they express the fact that they would — they sort of lament being this divided, and they talk in terms of wanting America to be a place where you can talk about your disagreements and not feel like it's going to be so fraught.

• Judy Woodruff:

  And so a mixed picture from these Trump voters in Iowa.

  Some wish for less division and blame the news media, especially social media. And yet they have strong views about Democrats, are divided on having one in the family, and question if progressive politics and Christianity can coexist.

  For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Judy Woodruff in Johnston, Iowa.