The Focus Group (ad-free)

The Republican National Convention took place with the backdrop of an assassination attempt, and Donald Trump added a MAGA true believer to his ticket, in J.D. Vance. The Bulwark's Marc Caputo joins Sarah from Milwaukee to discuss the convention, the aftermath of the assassination attempt on Trump, and voters' reactions to the Trump-Vance ticket.This episode was recorded before Donald Trump's acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention.Show Notes: Marc Caputo in The Bulwark: White Men Can Vote: The Logic Behind J.D. Vance for VPEnjoy this ad-free preview of the show. The Focus Group is available wherever you get your podcasts and on Youtube. Ad-free editions are available for Bulwark+ members. Upgrade today to watch the rest without ads. Add the show the your player of choice, here. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com

Watch, listen or leave a comment. The Focus Group with Sarah Longwell is available wherever you get your podcasts and on Youtube.Join Sarah in Dallas on Thursday, September 5 for An Evening with The Bulwark.Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger will be our special guest for this one-night show featuring a live taping The Bulwark Podast with Tim Miller.TheBulwark.com/events To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com

Joe Biden’s debate performance was a disaster . . . and voters noticed. Sarah Longwell and Tim Miller bring you the voters’ reactions and a frank discussion about the risks and rewards of Biden stepping aside as the nominee—because something in this race has to change.Note: This emergency episode of The Focus Group Podcast is currently only available for members of Bulwark+. The episode will be released to non-members later this week. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com

We taped this show before Joe Biden's disastrous first debate, but its thesis still holds true: he's losing this race. To better understand why, we fielded a group of Hispanic voters who voted for Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden, and are now leaning towards Trump. Amy Walter of The Cook Political Report joins Sarah to break down why these voters are givin… To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com

Utah has been something of a bulwark (pun intended) against Trumpism, but even they haven't been immune to sliding into MAGA. And now, with Sen. Mitt Romney retiring, Republican voters are poised to pick a new U.S. senator there. The Atlantic's McKay Coppins joins Sarah to break down how Utah Republicans are different, and where they might go from here. They also discuss voters' assessments of Romney as he prepares to leave office.Watch, listen or leave a comment. Don’t care for video? Use the controls on the left-side of the player to toggle to the podcast edition. Add this show to your player of choice, here.Show Notes:By McKay Coppins: Romney: A ReckoningMcKay Coppins in The Atlantic: The Most American Religion To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com

One of the Republican Party's biggest long-term problems is that their base is demanding behavior that swing voters won't tolerate, and few things have brought out this gap better than Donald Trump's recent conviction. The Washington Post's Isaac Arnsdorf joins Sarah to discuss what the MAGA base expects out of politicians these days, and how swing vote… To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com

When Donald Trump's 34 felony convictions were handed down, we had focus groups ready to talk about them. PBS Newshour's Laura Barrón-López joins Sarah to listen to swing voters' reactions to Trump's conviction, and to the start of Hunter Biden's federal trial.Show Notes:PBS Newshour: How Republican voters feel about Trump and the election after his conviction To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com

We have five months to go until Election Day, and nobody's happy. So we're bringing you some catharsis. Jonathan V. Last joins Sarah to let out a primal scream and preview the home stretch of this presidential campaign through the lens of Trump '16/Biden '20 voters.Watch, listen or leave a comment for this edition of The Focus Group, here.Join Sarah, Tim and JVL for a live show on June 21 in Denver. Tickets are on sale now at TheBulwark.com/events. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com

North Carolina Republicans have nominated a candidate for governor who might be crazier than all of the Republicans who ran in 2022. And that's saying something. POLITICO's Zach Montellaro joins Sarah to walk through Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson's political rise, and how his supporters and GOP detractors feel about him.Show Notes:Zach Montellaro in POLITICO: The most important governor’s race of 2024 is about to have its own version of TrumpJessica Piper and Zach Montellaro in POLITICO: Trump’s weaknesses with GOP voters go beyond the suburbsJoin Sarah, Tim and JVL for a live show on June 21 in Denver. Tickets are on sale now at TheBulwark.com/events. Watch, listen or leave a comment for this edition of The Focus Group. Bulwark+ members can access ad-free editions of this and all Bulwark shows at TheBulwark.com/listen. Ad-supported versions are available on the site and wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube with video. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com

2024's college graduates started their college careers with COVID, and ended them with encampments on most of their campuses. The Bulwark's Tim Miller joins Sarah to discuss how America's youth have dealt with a turbulent few years, how they view the recent protests on their campuses, and their thoughts on November's election. Join Sarah, Tim and JVL for a live show on June 21 in Denver. Tickets are on sale now at TheBulwark.com/events. Watch, listen or leave a comment for this edition of The Focus Group. Bulwark+ members can access ad-free editions of this and all Bulwark shows at TheBulwark.com/listen. Ad-supported versions are available on the site and wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube with video. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com

One of Sarah's favorite Republicans, former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, is running for the U.S. Senate. So how are Sarah, and her fellow Maryland voters thinking about this race?Former Maryland Lt. Governor (and RNC chairman) Michael Steele joins Sarah to discuss how left-leaning Marylanders who've voted for Hogan before are thinking about his Senate bid, and his Democratic challengers.Watch, listen and leave a comment, here. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com

Donald Trump said that Nikki Haley's supporters would be "permanently barred" from the MAGA camp...and he's keeping that promise in the general election. Bulwark MAGA-world correspondent Marc Caputo joins Sarah to listen to Nikki Haley's base...those that are abandoning Trump in the general election, and those that are sticking with him.Leave a comment, here.Watch Sarah and Marc record this episode of The Focus Group ad-free, here. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com