Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election by winning back independent voters that voted for Trump in 2016. In some key swing states, the margin of victory for Biden was small, by just a few thousand, but nonetheless, they went with Trump in 2016 and Biden in 2020. Common perception now is that, given the choice between Trump and Biden in 2024, swing voters will go for Biden again.

Republican voters don’t want to acknowledge that but it very well may prove to be true. Once lost, it is very difficult for politicians to get voters back. In Trump’s case, it is mostly self-inflicted. He continues to talk about the 2020 election being stolen and that is something independent voters have moved on from. Voters look forward, not backwards. They are ready for him to move on but he seems incapable of doing so.

The Washington Post conducted a small focus group consisting of 15 swing voters who all voted for Trump in 2016 and for Biden in 2020. None want a Trump-Biden re-match. Most do not want Biden to run again but despite that fact, they will choose him over Trump if that is the choice. They all said that Biden is too old and feeble to do the job. They all described themselves as concerned and worried about facing a re-match. Some even claim to be panicked by the possibility. Of the fifteen, only three said they would go back to Trump and vote for him.

Nine of the fifteen said they would vote for Biden again. Three said they would not vote or find a third-party candidate. Even the 32 year old from Phoenix who talked about the panic Joe Biden’s re-election bid created would vote for Biden in 2024. Granted, that person is a registered Democrat but the voter said Trump creates a higher level of panic than even an incompetent and feeble Biden does.

Keep in mind, this is a Washington Post focus group. The news outlet is clearly in the tank for Joe Biden and any other Democrat running for office, so there’s that. Many media outlets are little more than arms of the DNC and WaPo is one of those. That is how democracy dies. The focus group included four Democrats but only three Republicans. No surprise there.

The results suggest the possibility of a frustrating and dispiriting election season for many Americans who, like the participants in The Post groups, do not want to see either of the front-runners for the Democratic and Republican nominations as their next president. The participants in the focus groups included eight independents, four Democrats and three Republicans from Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona and Wisconsin, who were screened for participation by their 2016 vote for Trump and 2020 vote for Biden. Nine of the participants were White, four were Black and two were Asian American.

The swing voters went with Trump in 2016 because they wanted change. By the 2020 election, they were tired of that change – mostly due to Trump’s personality and social media presence. (Those pesky mean tweets.) They simply disliked Hillary more than Trump in 2016. The words they use now when asked how they would feel if Trump was re-elected, they say words like “nervous,” “scared,” “shocked,” “sick,” and “horrified.” Now they just sound like any other Never Trumper. And, of course there is the mandatory Nazi reference – if Trump is re-elected, one voter said it would “feel like I was living in Nazi Germany.” Settle down, Francis.

They don’t want either Trump or Biden on the ticket but they don’t have strong feelings about other candidates. All but two of the voters want Biden to face a Democrat challenger in the primaries. The problem is they don’t know who that challenger would be. As everyone knows, the truth is that Democrats have such a narrow bench that there really isn’t anyone prepared to step up and challenge the incumbent president. Some talked about an interest in Michelle Obama but we all know she is too busy raking in that sweet, sweet post-presidency money. They have heard of Nikki Haley’s campaign and know of the anticipated campaign of Ron DeSantis.

Never fear, WaPo did its usual thing and dinged DeSantis as a potential candidate. Like all the Democrats, WaPo wants Trump to run against Biden.

But as DeSantis prepares a formal announcement of his campaign, Trump’s leading challenger for the nomination did not perform any better in a hypothetical head-to-head with Biden. The focus group voters cited his controversial positions in Florida and governing style as reasons for turning away from him. A majority of the participants chose Biden in that scenario, with a handful taking DeSantis or saying they were undecided.

Lisa is a previous resident of Florida, where she said she had once voted for DeSantis.

“Someone had said he was a mini-Trump. I have to agree with that. I mean, he’s very divisive also,” she said. “He would separate the country.”

Sure, Lisa. If by divisive she means he gets things done, ok. He pulled off a 19-point victory in his re-election campaign last November and is coming off a very successful session with the Florida Legislature. It looks like most Floridians are ok with what he’s doing in Florida.

All of the voters did say the economy isn’t good, particularly inflation, but they were divided as to how much Biden is to blame.

They were asked if there was anything that Trump could do to win back their votes in 2024. Some suggestions were made – he needs to learn to take blame, take an etiquette class, get off social media, or simply to grow up. They don’t have much hope of any of that happening. A 76-year-old dog doesn’t learn new tricks. Mostly the voters want what most other voters want – fresh faces, fresh ideas, and a sense of youthfulness. It’s time for the old folks to step aside.