“Stan Greenberg: Presidential Pollster” appearance on Katie Couric Podcast
Renowned Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg has advised the likes of Bill Clinton, Tony Blair and Nelson Mandela. But he first made a name for himself studying white working class voters. His seminal 1985 report on so-called Reagan Democrats examined why auto workers were abandoning the Democratic Party in Macomb County, Michigan. Greenberg joins the podcast to discuss how the 2016 election gave him déjà vu, why he’s been spending time in Macomb again and what he’s hearing from Trump supporters there. Plus, a caller in Chicago gets on the line to explain why she went from being a lifelong Democrat to voting for Donald Trump.
“Trump’s Core Supporters Remain Loyal” by Kenneth Walsh, US News & World Report
Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg sees the same trend. Based on research he conducted among Trump supporters in Macomb County, Michigan, Greenberg told NPR, “They trust him. They know he’s a businessman. They think he’ll know how to cut deals which are good for the country” and “that he’ll fight for American jobs.”
“5 Reasons All Democrats Must Oppose Gorsuch” by Richard Eskow, Huffington Post
Greenberg and co-author Nancy Zdunkewicz found that while many Trump voters are too bigoted to be reachable, many are socially liberal. While these voters still support Trump, at least for the moment, many were disheartened by Trump’s cabinet appointments of “million-dollar campaign donors” and “bankers from Goldman Sachs.” Trump’s tax breaks for billionaires made him seem like “a typical politician.”
“Among Trump Supporters, Conflicts Of Interest Aren’t A Top Concern” by Jim Zarroli, NPR Morning Edition
Democratic political strategist Stanley Greenberg recently returned to Macomb County, Mich., to talk to Trump voters. Among his many findings was that the president’s supporters aren’t particularly concerned about Trump’s conflicts of interest, an issue that has gotten widespread attention. Trump’s refusal to release his tax returns barely came up in the discussions, Greenberg says.
“Trump Voters Stand by Their Man” by Francis Wilkinson, Bloomberg News
Greenberg conducted four focus groups in February with a total of 35 white voters without college degrees — Trump’s base. As he wrote in his report, “racist sentiment, Islamophobia and disdain for multiculturalism” probably put many of these voters beyond the reach of Democratic appeals. But those for whom race is not decisive won’t necessarily be easy to lure back to the Democratic camp either, according to Greenberg’s report.
“Trump country divided over health care” by Alex Thompson, Vice News
Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg recently found similar frustration and muddled political philosophy among working-class Trump supporters in Michigan’s Macomb County, the home of “Reagan Democrats.” In the report released March 10, Greenberg concluded that “they are no longer talking about ‘repealing’ Obamacare… they ‘don’t know what the alternative is, but something had to be changed’ and they are totally focused on bringing down costs.”
“The Michigan “Reagan Democrats” voters who went for President Trump” Stan Greenberg appearance on CBS News Live’s “Red & Blue”
President Trump was the first Republican to carry Michigan since it supported President George H.W. Bush in 1988. Trump earned outsize support in Macomb County, where Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg coined the term “Reagan Democrat” in the mid-1980s. Greenberg returned to Macomb County in February and sat down with voters who’d backed both President Obama and President Trump. Greenberg joins “Red & Blue” to discuss what he learned.
“Democrats should offer solutions, not silence, on health care” by James Downie, Washington Post
In February, Democracy Corps’s Stan Greenberg conducted a focus group in Macomb with Democrats and independents who shifted to Trump after voting at least once for Obama to see whether they might return to the Democrats in the future. What issue came up most? “The cost of health care dominated the discussion in these focus groups,” Greenberg writes. “They speak of the impossibly high costs and hope Trump will bring ‘affordable healthcare.’ ”
“The Daily 202: Reagan Democrats give Trump a long leash – but deeply distrust GOP” by James Hohmann, Washington Post
“Repairing health care is what they expect him to do,” Greenberg said. “If it doesn’t happen, though, I believe they will think it’s because of the Republicans in Congress first and foremost, rather than Trump.” (Greenberg and Nancy Zdunkewicz, of Democracy Corps, wrote a 17-page memo summarizing their findings. It’s worth reading in full.)
“Report: Trump voters in Michigan like economically populist Democrats” by Jeff Stein, Vox
A new report says one way for Democrats to win these voters back is to more aggressively attack Wall Street, corporate tax breaks, and international free trade deals. On Friday, the progressive think tank the Roosevelt Institute and Democracy Corps released a 17-page memo detailing extensive focus group studies with 35 Democrats and independents in Macomb who voted for Trump.
