Jessica Tarlov

So an extra 13 percentage points to the Republicans.

Trump only got a 38% very positive reaction, lower than Biden in 2022, who got 41%.

Trump in 2018 at 48%.

Obama 2010 at 48%.

Bush, I mean, it makes sense.

It was just after 9-11 and the invasion had become 74% very positive in 2002.

I cannot even think of an event that would unify us like that.

What I think is most important about this, and there were focus groups of swing voters that were largely reflective of what I'm about to say, is that Donald Trump had one assignment, which was...

to make us believe that he knows the reality on the ground.

And there was a big meeting with GOP strategists, Tony Fabrizio, Crystal Savita, James Blair, where they were briefing the Republicans on the midterm strategy.

And they laid out

A pretty normal approach, which is don't tell people that their lived reality is fake.

Don't do what the Democrats did.

Big mistakes, right?

Bragging about your GDP numbers and wages, et cetera, when people are struggling.

And then they admitted in that meeting that Donald Trump was going to go out there and do whatever he wanted.

And it would essentially be a bifurcated strategy.

There would be what Trump is doing and what you should be doing on the ground.

And so they were correct.

They know their guy.