After listening to Donald Trump’s speech Thursday night, about half of a group of undecided Ohio voters said they are more likely to vote for the Republican nominee.
The focus group of 20 Republican and independent voters from the crucial swing state were asked to react and respond to the speech in real-time using mobile devices powered by Microsoft Pulse.
Overall, participants said they liked that the speech was stern and serious but not vicious. They found the tone mostly positive, upbeat and forward-looking.
“Usually when I hear him talk it’s a lot of polarizing, hateful talk, but he seemed more inclusive this time,” Republican Jen Straniero told CNN’s John Berman.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the Republicans in the group responded positively to the speech. One of the highest peaks of approval occurred when Trump pledged, “I am with America. I’m with you.” Republican Nick Somich liked that Trump turned the focus back to the voters. “I think that use of ‘you’ was a powerful message,” he said.
The highest peak of approval among independents occurred when Trump spoke of destroying ISIS and rooting out Islamic terrorists. When Trump touted his plan to build a wall on the border with Mexico, independents disagreed while the majority of Republicans responded positively.
Republican Kent Maas said he liked Trump’s “can-do” attitude. ‘It’s a very American attitude to me,” Kent said. “He laid out a vision tonight. He hasn’t laid out any of the ways he’s going to take care of that vision, but it’s a great start.”
Several thought Trump lacked specifics, a viewpoint echoed by independent voter Lesa Goodman. “He talks about how he’s going to make America great again,” she said, “but he doesn’t seem to have a plan. How are we going to get there?”
Republican Brad Izeman said Trump’s use of the phrase “believe me” seemed distrustful. “I can’t believe him,” Izeman said.
The group all responded positively to the speeches from Trump’s children, and liked hearing them praise their father. “They respect him and I like that,” said independent voter Sandy Moehring.
One thing everyone unanimously agreed on — the speech went on for a very long time.
