Why some Republicans are worried about their core voters

Summary

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Apple News Today — Episode Summary

Episode Title: Why some Republicans are worried about their core voters
Date: July 29, 2026
Host: Gideon Resnick (in for Shumita Basu)
Main Theme:
This episode explores three main stories: the political and diplomatic fallout from Senator Lindsey Graham’s funeral; growing concern among Republican strategists about waning enthusiasm in the GOP voter base; and a significant decline in the number of children living in America’s major cities.

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1. Global Leaders and Diplomacy at Lindsey Graham’s Funeral

Overview

• The funeral of Senator Lindsey Graham at the Washington National Cathedral attracted top U.S. officials and global leaders.
• The gathering served as an opportunity for high-level diplomacy amid ongoing conflicts in the Gulf and Ukraine.

Key Segments & Insights

• [00:34] President Trump eulogized Graham, highlighting his vigor and patriotism.
• [01:36] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump held a private meeting, with discussions focusing on the Iran war and Israel’s military campaigns.
• [01:56] Graham Slattery (Reuters, White House National Security Reporter) described the Trump-Netanyahu relationship as “love-hate” and increasingly complex.
• [02:17] Israel's hopes for U.S. support remain even as their goals, like regime change in Iran, have moderated.
• [03:14] Trump also met Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy on comparatively warm terms, discussing military support and possible new talks for Ukraine.
• [03:44] Lindsey Graham was described as a crucial hawkish voice influencing Trump’s foreign policy, especially on Ukraine and Iran.

Notable Quotes

• Anita LeBrun, eulogy:

  "He was a man who gave America the full measure of his good and mighty heart until that heart itself just gave out." [01:01]

• Graham Slattery (Reuters):

  “They've had this love-hate relationship for a long time. I've had people close to Trump just say it's just a bizarre relationship…” [01:56] “He never saw a war he didn’t like ... he was a pretty powerful advocate for just being more involved in, I mean, most conflicts, but particularly in Ukraine and Iran.” [03:44]

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2. GOP Concerns: Waning Voter Enthusiasm

Overview

• As the midterm campaign season approaches, prominent Republican strategists and pollsters warn of a worrisome lack of voter enthusiasm, even among loyal GOP voters.

Key Segments & Insights

• [04:51] Liz Goodwin (Washington Post) reports that even highly engaged Republican voters are “checked out” for this election.
• [05:16] One in five loyal Republican voters reached by canvassers are uncertain if they will vote in November.
• [05:33] The main frustration stems from the state of the economy, with many citing high prices and unaddressed promises.
• [06:14] Polls show declining GOP ratings on the economy; a Fox News survey found Democrats had a 10-point edge over Republicans on both the economy and inflation.
• [06:56] President Trump continues to project optimism about the economy despite widespread skepticism.
• [07:09] Republican hopes hinge on reviving enthusiasm at a planned September convention, but strategists acknowledge that messaging alone won't fix voters' underlying economic concerns.

Notable Quotes

• Liz Goodwin (Washington Post):

  “They think there is a problem where even very engaged loyal voters, a chunk of them are feeling disengaged and tuned out.” [04:51]
  “About one out of every five of them ... would sort of say, you know, I'm not sure if I'm going to show up in November. I'm not really feeling it.” [05:16]
  “They're hoping that Trump will go there, he'll give a big speech, everyone will get excited again...that doesn't really affect the actual economic indicators that these voters are citing as the reason why they're not enthusiastic.” [07:23]

• Anita LeBrun, paraphrasing Trump’s economic optimism:

  “Jobs are up, inflation is down. Our border is secure. Factories are opening at record levels. Investment is booming. Michigan is thriving. America is winning like never before.” [06:56]

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3. America’s Cities Are Losing Their Kids

Overview

• New data show a dramatic 15% decline over the past decade in the number of children under five living in large U.S. cities.

Key Segments & Insights

• [00:23], [08:09] Rachel Enstein (Wall Street Journal) reports the decline is due both to lower birth rates (more pronounced in cities) and families with children moving out of urban areas.
• [08:33] Factors include cost of living, quality of life, and remote work opportunities encouraging moves to suburbs or smaller cities.
• [09:04] Case example: the Escobedo family of El Paso, Texas, has noticed far fewer children in their neighborhood as their own kids grow up and leave.
• [09:16] The decline began before the pandemic and accelerated with remote work during it; affects two-thirds of large U.S. cities, regardless of cost.
• [09:41] Only some Sunbelt cities (like Fort Worth and Jacksonville) are bucking the trend thanks to affordable single-family homes.
• [10:27] In the short term, departing families are often replaced by affluent, child-free adults or empty nesters, which is not (yet) hurting city finances.

Notable Quotes

• Rachel Enstein (WSJ):

  “The fertility rate or the birth rate is down, actually more in cities than in other places.” [00:23, 08:33]
  “People are leaving all kinds of cities. So they're leaving expensive cities. They are leaving pretty cheap cities like Albuquerque or Milwaukee.” [09:41]
  “...where families are effectively being replaced by affluent people without children or whose kids are grown up. And in that situation, it's not really that bad, at least for now, for the city's finances, essentially.” [10:27]

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4. Additional Noteworthy Moments

• [12:16] Minnesota Law and Happy Hour:
  A whimsical story about Anita LeBrun, an 82-year-old resident who successfully lobbied for retirement homes to serve alcohol, culminating in new state legislation.

  • Anita LeBrun:

    “My friends and I love Happy Hour just like many of you do. I am sure over a shared drink we get to reminisce about parts of our life ... and celebrating the golden phase of our lives too.” [12:16]

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Episode Timeline

• 00:05 — Opening headlines and major stories
• 01:01 — Tribute to Senator Lindsey Graham; Trump eulogy
• 01:36–04:16 — Funeral diplomacy; Trump–Netanyahu, Trump–Zelenskyy meetings; Graham’s foreign policy influence
• 04:51–08:09 — GOP voter enthusiasm concerns; economic frustrations; polling insights
• 08:09–10:52 — Declining child populations in cities; family migration patterns; economic impact
• 12:16 — Legislative change in Minnesota retirement homes (light feature)

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Tone:
The episode maintains a factual, crisp, and analytical tone throughout, with personal anecdotes and quotes providing color and human interest. The critical lens on U.S. politics and demographics is balanced by moments of levity in the closing story.

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Transcript

[Gideon Resnick]

Good morning. Lindsey Graham's funeral draws world leaders to Washington for tributes and some diplomacy. Reuters breaks down President Trump's busy day. The Washington Post looks at how enthusiasm for the president might be waning among GOP voters and why America's biggest cities are losing their kids.

[Rachel Enstein]

So the number of children living in big cities is declining pretty dramatically. The fertility rate or the birth rate is down, actually more in cities than in other places.

[Gideon Resnick]

It's Wednesday, July 29th. I'm Gideon Resnick in for Shimita Basu. This is Apple News today. DC's most powerful were gathered together at the Washington National Cathedral Tuesday for the funeral of Senator Lindsey Graham. It was a day that was marked by tributes, but also plenty of high level diplomacy. President Trump eulogized Graham, noting how close they eventually became.

[Anita LeBrun]

He was a man who gave America the full measure of his good and mighty heart until that heart itself just gave out. But even though Lindsey's life was cut short while he was still so full of vim and vigor, there can be no doubt that he lived absolutely to the fullest. He died doing the work he was born to do. He was truly a great politician serving the country he loved to serve so deeply.

[Gideon Resnick]

The funeral brought global leaders to pay tribute, and that provided an unusual opening for talks on two ongoing conflicts in the Gulf and Ukraine. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Trump in a closed door meeting before the service began and at a time when it's not exactly clear how Netanyahu is influencing the Iran war.

[Graham Slattery]

They've had this love hate relationship for a long time. I've had people close to Trump just say it's just a bizarre relationship and it makes less and less sense the closer you are in some respects.

[Gideon Resnick]

Graham Slattery is White House National Security reporter for Reuters. He notes they began the war side by side with Trump regarding Netanyahu as a close ally.

[Graham Slattery]

But he's also been very frustrated in recent times, for instance by some of Israel's bombing campaigns in southern Lebanon. So that's the macro. And then specifically, he's complained a bit recently about Prime Minister Netanyahu publicly making the case for strikes on Pickaxe Mountain, which is this alleged Iranian nuclear facility, rather than to him privately, perhaps in an effort to box him in in the court of public opinion.

[Gideon Resnick]

Slattery says Netanyahu may be trying to keep the US involved in the conflict, even if Israel's more ambitious goals, like regime change, have fallen away a little.

[Graham Slattery]

I think for more obtainable goals, a major strike of some kind of Pickaxe Mountain. The place I keep bringing up is something the Israelis would really like. This is a place that is a very, very deep cavern that is perhaps not penetrable by conventional weapons. So destroying this facility would take just a lot of effort. It's not even clear that there's actually spinning centrifuges in there.

[Gideon Resnick]

Netanyahu described the meeting as excellent. Trump's other meeting of the day was with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, another leader that he's had a complicated relationship with. They met privately on warmer terms than previous meetings and reportedly discussed support for Ukraine's air defenses and the possibility of reviving talks. It was perhaps no surprise that foreign policy would become an important part of the day. Graham was committed to the idea that the US should shape world events and exert power abroad.

[Graham Slattery]

Senator Graham, he was really an old school hawk. Trump said something to the effect of Lindsey. He never saw a war he didn't like and so he was really heavy. He was a pretty powerful advocate for just being more involved in, I mean, most conflicts, but particularly in Ukraine and Iran. So with his death, the hawk, so to speak, the old school neoconservatives really lost an important voice who had access to Trump and was actually one of relatively few people that could actually sway his decision making. So if you're Ukraine, if you're the Iranian opposition, you're probably a bit concerned.

[Gideon Resnick]

Trump may have more diplomacy in the cards in the days ahead. Last night, the US And Iran ended their brief pause in fighting. The US Military said it intercepted multiple Iranian ballistic missiles aimed on American forces, while US And Saudi forces struck Iran backed militias in Iraq. As the midterm campaign season approaches, Republican pollsters and strategists are sounding the alarm about a lack of enthusiasm among the GOP's voter base.

[Liz Goodwin]

They think there is a problem where even very engaged loyal voters, a chunk of them are feeling disengaged and tuned out.

[Gideon Resnick]

Liz Goodwin is a national political reporter for the Washington Post. She said that political operatives at the Republican aligned Americans for Prosperity action group told her their door knockers are hearing that some dyed in the wool Republicans are checked out ahead of November.

[Liz Goodwin]

These are people who turned out four out of the last four elections, including primaries. That's like a really engaged vote voter. And about one out of every five of them that they would reach at the door would sort of say, you know, I'm not sure if I'm going to show up in November. I'm not really feeling it.

[Gideon Resnick]

Historically, most parties that hold The White House see a slip in enthusiasm during midterm elections, and the president's party also typically loses ground in Congress during the midterms, Goodwin said. The chief reason these voters are becoming disillusioned with Republicans is the economy and what they see as unfulfilled promises made by President Trump.

[Liz Goodwin]

They're saying prices are too high. They don't like the gas hikes that have come since the Iran war, especially now that Trump is in there, and they're still not seeing an improvement. In some cases, things are getting worse. A lot of voters are. It's about 20% of these kind of loyal Republican voters are citing this as a big issue for them.

[Gideon Resnick]

Trump remains popular among his base, and he's shown an ability to turn out lower propensity voters when he is on the ballot. But polling backs up the idea that even some Republicans are feeling the economic pinch. A recent survey from Pew Research center found that 41% of Republicans and Republican leaning independents rated the economy as good or excellent. That's a drop from earlier in the year. And in terms of preference, another survey from Fox News found that respondents favored Democrats to Republicans on the economy and inflation by about 10 points apiece. The president projected an optimistic picture in Michigan this week and dismissed voter concerns over affordability.

[Anita LeBrun]

Jobs are up, inflation is down. Our border is secure. Factories are opening at record levels. Investment is booming. Michigan is thriving. America is winning like never before, goodwin said.

[Gideon Resnick]

Republicans are hoping a planned midterm convention in September can get the party base tuned in to close that enthusiasm gap. But messaging alone may not be enough to change the minds of voters who cast their ballots with their wallets.

[Liz Goodwin]

They're hoping that Trump will go there, he'll give a big speech, everyone will get excited again. I think the issue with that, though, is that that doesn't really affect the actual economic indicators that these voters are citing as the reason why they're not enthusiastic. And it is possible that these enthusiasm gaps will narrow by November because a lot of people sort of tune in later and then put their jerseys back on and vote on the side that they've always voted for. And that could well happen again. But the numbers are different enough from what we've seen in recent cycles that some Republicans are concerned that that's not going to happen.

[Gideon Resnick]

The child population in big cities is falling dramatically. That's according to new data analysis by the Wall Street Journal, which showed the number of children under five living in larger cities has fallen 15% over the past decade.

[Rachel Enstein]

And there are a variety of factors in this, the two main ones are people not having kids and then people with kids moving away.

[Gideon Resnick]

Rachel Enstein is a reporter with the Journal.

[Rachel Enstein]

The fertility rate or the birth rate is down, actually more in cities than in other places. And then in a lot of cities, more people are leaving with kids. Some it's for cost reasons. And it can also be a quality of life thing and also more economic opportunities available outside of cities with remote work. You don't have to stay in a city in the way that you once did.

[Gideon Resnick]

She told us about the Escobedo family in El Paso, Texas. Their twins have moved on to college. So it's just them and their 12 year old.

[Rachel Enstein]

They live in this nice neighborhood in the city. They still live there, but they've just noticed that the number of kids around is disappearing. They live on this nice cul de sac. There used to be kids everywhere.

[Gideon Resnick]

The Journal reviewed Census data from 2015 through 2024, the most recent year available. They found that there are fewer children in around two thirds of the 38 U.S. cities with more than 500,000 residents. The decline in city kids began in 2017 and picked up with the pandemic, fueled in part by the ability to work remotely. The drop is taking place in cities across the economic spectrum.

[Rachel Enstein]

People are leaving all kinds of cities. So they're leaving expensive cities. They are leaving pretty cheap cities like Albuquerque or Milwaukee.

[Gideon Resnick]

The exception to that trend seems to be some sun built cities where families can still purchase a single family home. Places like Fort Worth, Texas and Jacksonville, Florida. Speaking to the Journal, some families cited costs, safety and quality of life to justify the moves. Others without children pointed to the steep costs associated with having a family, swaying their decision to not have kids. Many economists worry that over time an aging population could become a drag on economic growth and productivity rates as the working age population drops. But Ensign says that has not been the experience for big cities in the short term.

[Rachel Enstein]

There are a lot of or a number of cities at least, where families are effectively being replaced by affluent people without children or whose kids are grown up. And in that situation, it's not really that bad, at least for now, for the city's finances, essentially.

[Gideon Resnick]

Here are a few other stories we're following today. Rescuers in Japan were working overnight to recover people after a 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit the Kumamoto prefecture on Tuesday. At least three people died. The quake caused an explosion at a shopping mall and knocked out power for thousands of homes. A massive earthquake in the same region 10 years ago killed 275 people and injured many more. Japan accounts for about 20% of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 or more. Johnson and Johnson said Monday that it would pay an estimated $5.5 billion in settlement money to resolve tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging that the company's baby powder and other talc products cause ovarian cancer. The deal has to be accepted by 95% of the individual claimants in state or federal court before it becomes final. The company denies that its talc based products cause cancer, but stopped selling the baby powder in the US and Canada in 2020. And finally, it's five o' clock somewhere, including at the retirement home. A new law in Minnesota will allow these facilities to serve alcohol without needing an additional license. That's thanks to the efforts of one 82 year old resident named Anita LeBrun. She was a regular at Happy Hours at her retirement home, but said she found it ridiculous that they wouldn't serve her a glass of Pinot Grigio to have with her friends. She even testified to state lawmakers.

[Anita LeBrun]

My friends and I love Happy Hour just like many of you do. I am sure over a shared drink we get to reminisce about parts of our life military service, raising a family, the loss of a friend, and celebrating the golden phase of our lives too.

[Gideon Resnick]

The video of her testimony generated a ton of attention and eventually the state's governor, Tim Walls, signed the bill into law earlier this month. At LeBrun's home, they raised glasses to cheer, but there was one catch about what they actually drank. It was alcohol. Free wine. That's because the law doesn't take effect until August 1st. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening to the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. The New Yorker has the story of a man who made it his life's mission to repair steel guardrails on American highways and raise awareness about their potential deadliness. If you're listening to the podcast app, you can follow Apple News plus Narrated to find that story and I'll be back with the news tomorrow.