As President Biden and former President Trump prepare to meet on the debate stage Thursday in Atlanta, voters across the country shared their top election priorities with Fox News Digital.
Two issues dominated: the economy and immigration.
“The economy’s crippling people,” said Vince from Maryland. “You go to a restaurant, you get something to eat, it used to be $40 for lunch. Now it’s $65, $70 just for lunch.”
Joe Biden and Donald Trump debate in Nashville, Tennessee, on Oct. 22, 2020. They will meet on stage for the first time in years on June 27, 2024, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Kevin Dietsch/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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A Tennessee woman worried about “all of the millions that have come across the border.”
“What are you going to do with them?” she asked. “Where are the jobs for them? Where’s the housing for them?”
Those concerns deviate slightly from the results of a nationwide Fox News Poll, conducted earlier this month. The future of American democracy topped the list with 68% of registered voters saying it will be extremely important in deciding which candidate they will support in November.
The economy trailed by two percentage points (66%), followed by stability and normalcy (58%). Further down the list was immigration with 52% saying it will be extremely important to them — tied with health care.
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Yet voters all over the country, including in states like Oregon and New York that are far from the southern border, said immigration was a major concern for them.
“It’s a lot of favoritism going towards the immigrants for some reason,” Jason from Queens told Fox News Digital. “Us New Yorkers are keeping quiet about it, mostly, but I would love for [Trump and Biden] to talk about … how they’re going to move forward, because they’re doing a lot of crazy stuff. Beating up police. Harassing women. They’re doing a lot of crazy stuff.”
There has been a spate of disturbing violence involving suspected illegal immigrants within the last month in New York City.
Two NYPD officers were shot while chasing a man on a stolen scooter, and a 25-year-old from Ecuador is accused of raping a 13-year-old girl at knifepoint in broad daylight at a park in Queens. Both suspects entered the country illegally near Eagle Pass, Texas, in the last three years, according to police.
“They’re out here with knives, guns, everything. It’s bad,” Pak from Queens said. “Trump predicted this. So I’m voting for Trump. Everybody who didn’t like Trump before, now they like Trump.”
A man is taken away from a migrant shelter in handcuffs on Randall’s Island in New York on April 8, 2024. Five suspects were taken into custody after a fight broke out inside of the shelter, leading to hospitalizations. (FNTV)
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Voters trust Trump to do a better job on immigration and the economy, according to the Fox News poll, but believe Biden will better address issues like health care, abortion and climate change.
One woman in Chicago named reproductive rights as a top concern, while a woman in Alexandria, Virginia, said criminal justice reform was at the top of her mind. But many more brought the debate back to the economy.
“We have a lot of people, good people, hard-working people that can’t make ends meet any more today and are really struggling,” Cheryl from Racine, Wisconsin, said. “So what I would like them to really talk about is the issue of people being able to live a decent life.”
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Thursday’s CNN Presidential Debate will be the first of two showdowns between President Biden and his predecessor.
“I think it’s one of the most pivotal debates in the history of our country,” Byron said in Birmingham, Michigan, though he added that the outcome of the debate is unlikely to change his vote.
Rudy in Chicago said he planned to watch, but was “100%” for Trump.
“This country is not being run well right now,” Rudy said.
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Others said they might just catch up on highlights from the debate later.
“It’s not going to influence my vote,” one man in Fresno, California, said. “It’s entertainment at this point.”
Hannah Ray Lambert reported from Oregon City, Oregon; Nikolas Lanum reported from New York City; Gabriel Hays reported from Alexandria, Virginia; Alba Cuebas-Fantauzzi reported from Knoxville, Tennessee; Kristen Altus reported from Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Joshua Q. Nelson reported from Birmingham, Michigan; Joseph A. Wulfsohn reported from Chicago, Illinois; Kira Mautone reported from Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Ashley Carnahan reported from Chino Hills, California; and Christopher Lopez reported from Fresno, California.
