The war in Iran was a costly blunder, according to swing voters in the battleground state of Wisconsin.NPR observed two online focus groups on Tuesday featuring voters who supported Joe Biden in 2020 and then Donald Trump in 2024.President Trump had just announced a framework agreement to end the war, which he signed on Wednesday.Yet among the focus groups' 13 participants, no one said they thought the conflict with Iran was "worth it," and nine said they felt that the U.S.is coming out of this conflict weaker than before.Corey M., a 33-year-old independent voter, said he is concerned that the U.S.
expended "so much financially and so much of our arsenal," with little to show for it.(All participants agreed to be part of the focus groups on the condition that they be identified by their first name and last initial only.)"We essentially got nothing out of it," he said.
"It's hurt our economy and increased expenses for the everyday American, and it accomplished the square root of nothing."Focus groups are not scientifically significant like polling.But they provide insight into how Americans are thinking about what they see in the news.These focus groups — made up of 10 self-described independents, two Democrats and one Republican — were conducted by messaging and market research firms Engagious and Sago as part of the Swing Voter Project.
NPR is a partner on the project.Rich Thau, president of Engagious, moderated the focus groups.He has been asking voters in key states about this conflict since March.
And he said voters have been consistent."They were never on board," Thau said."Not the beginning.
Not in the middle.And as we just learned, not at the end either, judging from what we heard from Wisconsin swing voters."Sam M., a 30-year-old independent, said from what he read about the deal, it wasn't leaving the U.S.
in a better position than before the war.In fact, he said he thought the Iran nuclear deal brokered by the Obama administration — which Trum...