Florida Voters Speak Out: Hillary Clinton And Donald Trump Least-Liked Candidates, According To Focus Group
Despite leading their respective parties in a bid for the presidential election nomination, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are the least-liked candidates in the running. At least, that’s what came to light during a recent focus group comprised of both Democrat and Republican voters in Florida.
CBS News reported that voters are angry at the assumption that Clinton and Trump are the only options in the 2016 presidential race. The one thing that both Hillary and Donald have in common is that a lot of Americans really don’t like them. So why are they leading their parties for the nomination?
The focus group was held at the Orlando Public Library by CBS News contributor and Republican strategist Frank Luntz.
During the sit-down, one woman said of Trump and Clinton, “I would rather not vote than vote for either one of these candidates.”
She continued, “And it pains me to say that because I feel it’s my right as a member of this democratic society to be able to vote. But given those two candidates, I can’t vote for either one of them.”
The unidentified woman was asked by Luntz why she didn’t want to vote for Trump or Clinton.
“I just think that none of the– either party doesn’t deserve my vote. They’re not giving me what I feel we need as a country,” another woman explained. “So why give the support to someone who’s not gonna do what I need them to do for me and my family?”
“I don’t believe Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton really care about the American people. I don’t trust either of them. I don’t think they are presidential,” one man said.
When asked who is “mad as hell,” many in the group said that they are upset over the current political choices and what they mean for the future.
The New York Times reports that despite Trump and Clinton looking like clear front-runners in the 2016 presidential race and despite many voting for them in the primaries, they are still not winning the loyalty of voters. To put it bluntly, Americans don’t trust Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump.
“There is no analogous election in the modern era where the two top candidates for the nomination are as divisive and weak,” Steve Schmidt, a top campaign adviser to George W. Bush in 2004 and John McCain in 2008, told the New York Times. “There is no precedent for it.”
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump tear up Florida and the Midwest https://t.co/XAv5QtrAZT pic.twitter.com/9NtQpa3tLg
— The Economist (@TheEconomist) March 18, 2016
One reason for distrust of Trump, according to the CBS focus group, was the fact that Donald Trump’s ties are made in China. The Republican front-runner is using the slogan “Make America Great Again” and says he wants to bring jobs back to the U.S. So why is Donald Trump importing his own ties from China?
Where Trump gets his ties is only a small part of the concern about his bid for the presidency. Many Americans feel like Donald Trump is dangerous as the leader of the free world. Trump has gained the support of a handful of white supremacist groups and has a growing list of supporters with very questionable ethics. Trump has been recorded telling his supporters to go ahead and assault protestors at his rallies and that he’ll even pay the legal fees. Not to mention Trump’s promise to build a wall between the United States and Mexico (at their expense) as well as to force Muslim Americans to register with the government. For those who do not support Donald Trump for president, it’s pretty easy to see why his leadership in the current political climate is concerning, to say the least.
On the other hand, Hillary Clinton was criticized for her part in many scandals that plagued Bill Clinton’s presidency as well as her run as Secretary of State. Hillary is still dealing with the fallout from her email scandal, and the GOP won’t let go of the Benghazi scandal. Not to mention the trouble with The Clinton Foundation. While it looks like a lot of Democrats want Clinton to win the nomination, there are still a lot of people who want to see her held responsible for her alleged crimes.
It’s understandable why Florida voters, both Republican and Democrat, would be dissatisfied with the current frontrunners in the 2016 presidential race. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are both running campaigns riddled with controversy and both have been repeatedly accused of having questionable ethics. Are either of the front-runners in the 2016 presidential race fit to lead the country?
[Photos by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images and Win McNamee/Getty Images]
