Scott Rasmussen Puts A Finger On The Pulse Of America

Summary

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Federalist Radio Hour

Episode: Scott Rasmussen Puts A Finger On The Pulse Of America

Date: March 11, 2025
Host: Matt Kittle (Senior Elections Correspondent, The Federalist)
Guest: Scott Rasmussen (President, RMG Research Inc.)

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Episode Overview

This episode features pollster Scott Rasmussen in a wide-ranging conversation about the current political climate in America at the dawn of Trump's second term (“Trump 2.0”). Topics include the accuracy and limitations of polling, disconnects between political elites and everyday Americans, the state of the media, key voter issues, the 2024 election, government reforms, economic sentiment, and election integrity. Rasmussen also reflects humorously on his early role founding ESPN.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Polling, Media Bias, and Election Surprises

• Polling vs. Analysis: Rasmussen argues that polling is often scapegoated for surprises in electoral results, but it is typically the analysis (by pundits and media) that is at fault, not the polls themselves.

  "In 2016, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by 2 percentage points. The national polling showed that she would win it by three points. ...The polling was, wasn't perfect, but it wasn't as bad as the analysis."
  — Scott Rasmussen [04:34–07:16]

• Media Narratives and Bubbles: Both host and guest criticize the “legacy” and “accomplice” media for creating narratives rather than reflecting reality, due in part to their social and geographic separation from everyday voters.

  "All of us live in our bubbles. We tend to see things breaking in our direction."
  — Scott Rasmussen [08:18]

2. Trump’s Political Success and Elite Disconnect

• Roots of Trumpism: Rasmussen emphasizes that the issues animating the MAGA movement — skepticism of international commitments, wariness about immigration — long predated Trump’s candidacy. Trump succeeded by listening to and voicing concerns already present among Americans, especially working-class voters.

  "The movement was there before Donald Trump arrived to lead it, before he arrived to give voice to it."
  — Scott Rasmussen [04:34]

• Elite vs. Mainstream Priorities: He notes a consistent disconnect between the concerns of elites and those of ordinary voters, pointing out that immigration, for example, has been a top concern to most voters for decades but tends to be ignored by the political class.

  "We asked a thousand members of this elite world...what was the most important issue facing the nation. Not one of them mentioned immigration or border security."
  — Scott Rasmussen [11:51]

• Progressive Theories and Voter Frustration: Rasmussen observes that progressives tend to believe government “experts” know best, which breeds voter resentment when officials seem aloof or dismissive.

  "The message coming out of the Biden White House was, the economy is doing great. You people are just too stupid to recognize it. Not a great message."
  — Scott Rasmussen [11:51]

3. 2024 Election and Media’s Diminished Relevance

• Media’s Existential Stakes: The host recalls an executive allegedly saying that a Trump win in 2024 would mean “we’re done,” highlighting the high stakes for the mainstream media and its disconnect from public sentiment.

  "There is something to be said about sentiment and totally understanding it. Obviously, Abraham Lincoln understood it very well. His, his famous line, of course, is, you know, public sentiment is everything."
  — Matt Kittle [15:02]

• No Lessons Learned by Progressives: Rasmussen remarks that progressives appear to be doubling down on unpopular issues rather than self-reflecting after defeat. He cites the issue of transgender athletes in sports as an extreme case, noting that only 13% of voters support allowing biological males to compete in women’s sports.

  "They are doubling down on an issue that is supported by 13% of voters. Overwhelmingly. People think that's a bad idea. It's a rejection of common sense."
  — Scott Rasmussen [16:14]

4. Impact of Federal Layoffs & Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.)

• Public Reactions to Layoffs: Most Americans approve of federal workforce reductions, associating bureaucratic cuts with anti-corruption efforts and greater efficiency.

  "48% say that reducing the number of federal employees is good for the economy. 41% say it's bad. ...At the core of it all is the belief that there's not just waste in the federal government...there's a tremendous amount of corruption."
  — Scott Rasmussen [20:22]

• Budget Realities: Rasmussen warns that while trimming federal waste is popular, it will not resolve the larger problem of spiraling federal spending.

  "No matter if you eliminate every a penny of waste and corruption and fraud and abuse, spending will continue to go up, sure, at a slower rate, but that's a different question."
  — Scott Rasmussen [22:30]

5. The Economy: Still the Top Concern

• Biden’s Legacy, Trump’s Challenge: At the time of recording, economic pessimism was still easing, but voters continue to blame Biden for inflation and expect Trump to deliver improvement.

  "They trust Republicans by a 45% to 34% margin. So a double digit edge to the Republicans there. Inflation is a huge concern to voters."
  — Scott Rasmussen [23:37]

• Warning Signs: There’s growing confusion and concern over new trade tariffs, and Rasmussen signals that if improvements stall, this will threaten Republican prospects in the 2026 midterm elections.

  "There are some warning signs, some yellow lights that, that the Trump administration is going to have to address this head on."
  — Scott Rasmussen [23:37]

6. Voter Priorities for Trump’s Second Term

• Three Core Issues:
  1. Border Security – Public perception of government serious about the border has risen from 24% (Biden) to nearly 70% under Trump.
  2. Return to Common Sense (Especially Around Gender) – Executive orders aimed at reinforcing traditional views on gender and sports participation are broadly supported.
  3. The Economy – Ultimately, voters care most about economic improvement and inflation control.

  "If I was advising the President, that's what I would be saying between now and and November of 2026, you have to make the economy work for all Americans."
  — Scott Rasmussen [27:30–28:03]

7. Election Integrity and Broad Support for “Common Sense” Reforms

• Trust Is Low: Less than half of Americans are very confident in election accuracy. This distrust is bipartisan; Democrats doubted 2016, Republicans doubted 2020.

  "Only 45% of voters...say they are very confident that their votes are accurately counted and the correct person declared the winner. ...In a nation where the government derives its only just authority from the consent of the governed, that's a crisis."
  — Scott Rasmussen [31:48]

• Five Popular Reforms:

  • Photo ID to vote
  • Proof of citizenship to register
  • Ensuring ballot/vote counts match
  • All ballots (including mail-in) received by Election Day
  • General confidence-building on procedures

  "These are just sort of. Why wouldn't you do this?...This is a broad concern that we need to have confidence in our electoral processes."
  — Scott Rasmussen [32:05–33:18]

• Resistance from Elites: Efforts to enact these reforms often meet elite or activist resistance, with opponents framing them as "voter suppression" even though broad majorities support them.

  "Most of the people who said they liked that [For the People Act] reform thought it mandated photo ID requirements for all elections. In fact, it banned photo ID requirements."
  — Scott Rasmussen [34:24]

8. Personal Reflections: ESPN’s Early Years

• On Founding ESPN: Scott Rasmussen reminisces about the modest, scrappy origins of the sports network, recalling the unexpected appeal of obscure sporting events in the pre-internet era.

  "In our earliest days on the air we showed something called Irish hurling...And we started getting swamped with calls about...how can we follow it."
  — Scott Rasmussen [37:16–38:25]

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Notable Quotes by Timestamp

• On Polling Analysis:

  "The polling was...not perfect, but it wasn't as bad as the analysis."
  — Scott Rasmussen [07:16]

• On Media Bubbles:

  "All of us live in our bubbles…expectations that we bring into it."
  — Scott Rasmussen [08:18]

• On Disconnect Between Elites and Mainstream:

  "They don't understand the importance of listening."
  — Scott Rasmussen [11:51]

• On Out-of-Touch Policy Positions:

  "They are doubling down on an issue that is supported by 13% of voters...It's a rejection of common sense."
  — Scott Rasmussen [16:14]

• On Public Sentiment and Abraham Lincoln:

  "Public sentiment is everything. With it, you can accomplish just about anything. Without it, you can accomplish nothing."
  — Matt Kittle quoting Lincoln [15:02]

• On the Need for Election Reforms:

  "These are common sense reforms...we need to have confidence in our electoral processes."
  — Scott Rasmussen [32:05–33:18]

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Important Timestamps

• 02:17 – 03:07: Host introduction, guest welcome
• 04:34 – 07:16: Trump and the origins of MAGA; polling vs. analysis
• 08:18 – 11:51: Media bias, bubble mindsets, elite priorities vs. ordinary Americans
• 16:14 – 18:24: Progressive doubling down on unpopular social issues
• 20:22 – 22:30: Federal layoffs, public reactions to government workforce cuts
• 23:37 – 28:03: The economy’s central role, voter trust and expectations
• 28:03 – 34:24: Election integrity, public support for election reforms
• 37:16 – 38:25: Reflections on founding ESPN

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Memorable Moments

• Matt Kittle’s tongue-in-cheek opener:

  “Do you ever get tired of being right?”
  — [03:07]

• Scott Rasmussen’s humility:

  “Well, actually, I remember all the times that I've been wrong more than I remember the other. But I'm thankful that, that other people forget some of those along the way.”
  — [03:33]

• The ESPN anecdote:

  “We aired [Irish hurling] because we got free tapes...we started getting swamped with calls...it just caught us off guard.”
  — Scott Rasmussen [37:40]

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Tone & Style

The conversation is frank, analytical, occasionally humorous, and highly topical, with both host and guest combining partisan perspectives with polling data, historical context, and personal anecdotes. Both are candid about partisan divides, the blind spots of Washington elites, and media failures, yet the tone remains conversational and accessible to a broad audience.

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This summary offers a comprehensive guide to the episode’s content, key issues, and highlights—ideal for listeners seeking an in-depth yet concise overview.

Transcript

[Scott Rasmussen]

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[Matt Kittle]

We are back with another edition of the Federalist Radio Hour. I'm Matt Kittle, senior elections correspondent at the Federalist and and your experience Sherpa on today's quest for knowledge. As always, you can email the show at radio the federalist.com follow us on XDRLST. Make sure to subscribe wherever you download your podcast and of course to the premium version of our website as well. Our guest today is renowned pollster Scott Rasmussen, President of RMG Research Incorporated, as we check in on the pulse of America at the dawn of Trump 2.0. Scott, it is a great pleasure to have you with us here today on the Federalist Radio Hour.

[Scott Rasmussen]

Well, it's it's an honor to be with you and looking forward to just kind of catching up with all the things going on in the world around us.

[Matt Kittle]

Oh, my goodness. And no, no dull day in politics these days. The old saying, like drinking from a fire hose is, is, I think, apropos. Let's begin here, though. You've been doing this for a long time. You're like me. You have issues. You have lots of issues to cover. But the first question I, I have to do you ever get tired of being right?

[Scott Rasmussen]

Well, actually, I remember all the times that I've been wrong more than I remember the other. But I'm thankful that, that other people forget some of those along the way.

[Matt Kittle]

Yeah, I know. You should consult with pollster in Des Moines, Iowa these days. She understands exactly how you feel about that. With the last election. No, I mean, you have, you've been doing this for a long time. You've called a lot of these races, right? A lot of people in 16 pointed at you and said, you're crazy. You think this, you think this TV star, billionaire businessman has a chance of winning the, the presidency? You called it then. You called it, of course, in 2024, and you've called it a lot along the way. What gave you so much faith that Donald Trump had tapped into, I guess, the, the zeitgeist of American politics in 16 and again in 24?

[Scott Rasmussen]

Well, a couple things in that first, you know, a lot of people in the political realm think that Donald Trump somehow created the magma MAGA movement out of whole cloth. Especially people on the left think that somehow he's just conned people into following him irrationally. And nothing could be further from the truth. The movement was there before Donald Trump arrived to lead it, before he arrived to give voice to it. You know, my very first poll back in the 1980s, so a long time ago, found that Americans were unhappy that we were carrying an unfair share of the burden of the NATO defense. So that feeling was there in the 80s. It grew stronger. Issues like immigration came up that were growing, and Donald Trump was the one who stepped forward to lead it. But I also have to point out something about pollsters and polling, especially in 2016 and again this year, the polling was actually much better than The Legend in 2016. What was wrong, what was horribly wrong was the analysis. In 2016, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by 2 percentage points. The national polling showed that she would win it by three points. So that's pretty good when you look to the states. 47 states were absolutely no surprise. Based on the polling, there were three surprises in those blue wall states. But they were a surprise partly because of the analysis in Pennsylvania and Michigan. The last poll in each state showed Donald Trump ahead. The polling averages showed it to be a pure toss up. The only state that was really off that year was Wisconsin. But the analysis is something different in that people, television pundits and others couldn't imagine Donald Trump winning. So I was in the green room at Fox on election Day morning and the discussion was the average. The polls show her up by three points and the tone was, yeah, but there's always a margin of error. She's going to win by six, probably. And some were saying it'll be even bigger. She might hit double digits. It never occurred to anybody it could go the other direction even a bit. So again, there's a difference between polling and the analysis of polling. And in 2016, the polling was, wasn't perfect, but it wasn't as bad as the analysis.

[Matt Kittle]

Does it have something to do with. I'm just going to ask you this straight out and my, I imagine you may be diplomatic about this, but about the dishonesty of what I like to call the accomplice media we have seen over the last several years in this country, they're more interested in creating a narrative than telling the story. How much did. I don't know if it was willful. Ultimately, I think in some regards it definitely was or just, you know, ignorance that they again, they just couldn't possibly imagine that Donald Trump could defeat this, you know, this gilded politician and so called stateswoman and Hillary Clinton. How much of that played into where the polls were and the reporting in, in 2016, if you're being generous, you.

[Scott Rasmussen]

Point out that all of us live in our bubbles. We tend to see things breaking in our direction. You know, if you're a fan of Donald Trump today and you look at how people are concerned about inflation, you instantly say, well, it's still Biden's economy and Trump is going to fix it. If you're a Trump opponent, you're going to say, well, inflation is a problem today. Trump hasn't done anything about it yet and it' going to be the end of him next year. So part of it is the expectations that we bring into it. One of the things, one of the fun facts I like to point out is the polling was actually much worse in 2012 than it was in 2016. The reason nobody noticed it then is because the expectation was that Barack Obama was going to win the election. He still won, but by a much smaller margin than was expected by many of the pundits. So it wasn't really a shock to the system. And I think that's a big part of it, you know, right now. Well, you mentioned Hillary Clinton in 2016. Barack Obama said she's the most prepared candidate ever to serve as president. There was a value in her experience in what we would call the swamp. Voters didn't share that. Today we're seeing the same thing. You know, CBS is running these stories about these poor, honorable civil servants who are being laid off. Part of the reason for that is that people in D.C. and especially at elite levels in the political world believe that working for the government is more honorable than working in the private sector. So they don't shed a tear when a steel worker is laid off. But boy, when those government workers get laid off, it's a problem. And part of it is what you see around us. We did a poll a couple days ago and only 8% of voters say they've really felt any kind of impact from all of these layoffs. We're doing a survey in the D.C. area right now and the reaction is much different.

[Matt Kittle]

And I want to get into that in just a moment because it's fascinating to see those numbers but then also see how the issue is covered by the so called legacy or mainstream media. Just a note on qualified or overly qualified candidates for president. Let us never forget what history has taught us. James Buchanan was arguably the most qualified candidate for president this country may have ever produced. And we know how that story ended. Scott, I want to get back to a point that you raised. I think it's absolutely fascinating because it really gets to the heart of where Americans have been for such a long time, where they are today in terms of sentiment. You mentioned the whole NATO commitment idea back in all the way going back into the 1980s that still prevails today. And ultimately, Donald Trump has tapped into so many of these issues that are so important to the average voter but so dismissed by the elites, so dismissed by the again, the accomplice media. Why is it that he seems to be in so many cases the only guy who is recognizing these things that the the usual suspects put to the side.

[Scott Rasmussen]

You know, you could say that Donald Trump has good gut instincts that he's been talking about this or thinking about it in different ways for a long time. People on the left have a hard time understanding how this billionaire can seem to connect with working class Americans better than others. But I think there's a couple of things going on. Number one, progressives have a theory of the world, and the theory of the world is. Their theory of the world is experts know what's best. And if you just turn over government to the experts, it will be better for the working class, it'll be better for lower income Americans. And what that means is they really don't listen very much to the people. They don't share the concerns. We saw this in the campaign last year. The message coming out of the Biden White House was, the economy is doing great. You people are just too stupid to recognize it. Not a great message. Not a great message at all. So there's this sense of they don't understand the importance of listening. They don't understand the importance of the fact that when voters raise these concerns, they want them addressed. So immigration is an issue that for decades, more than 80% of Americans have said legal immigration is good for America. And more than 80% have said illegal immigration is bad for America. We did a survey last year of the elite 1%. We asked a thousand members of this elite world, in their own words, what was the most important issue facing the nation. Not one of them mentioned immigration or border security. They were, they weren't listening to what was going on. When we asked federal government managers in December about the biggest issue facing the nation, very few mention the economy because, you know, in the federal government, at least until Elon Musk and Doge, the economy was great. If you worked for the federal government, you had a job for life, you were pretty well paid. And. And so they just didn't understand what was going on in the country. And I will come back. You know, I think we are all products of the bubbles that we live in. I think a lot of it is tied to the fact that these people are living in a different world. During the pandemic, economists were shocked at how fast jobs came back after that initial surge of layoffs. Well, the reason that they were shocked by it is because everybody in their world was afraid to go out and they could stay at home and work on their computer. They didn't understand understand how bartenders and waitresses and construction workers needed to go on the job and begin to earn some money. So this disconnect is real. And one of the challenges we have as a nation is how do we begin to bridge that gap. The legacy media did a horrible job. They became part of the elite bubble. They refused to acknowledge anything else. And what we saw in 2024 is the legacy media is no longer relevant.

[Matt Kittle]

That is the big takeaway. I think you're absolutely right from 2024. And I believe, wasn't it there, you know, an unnamed anonymous corporate media executive who said, if Donald Trump wins, we're over, we're done. I mean, that's not his exact quote, but that's, that's, that's the sentiment, right? And there is something to be said about sentiment and totally understanding it. Obviously, Abraham Lincoln understood it very well. His, his famous line, of course, is, you know, public sentiment is everything. With it, you can accomplish just about anything. Without it, you can accomplish nothing. I still see in early 2025, in the first couple of months of Trump's second term in office, the 21st century's Grover Cleveland. I, I still see a doubling down from the left. They have, they seemingly, based on what you're seeing in the numbers, what you've reported in the numbers, they've learned just about absolutely nothing from the verdict of the American people in, in 2024. Am I correct or am I overstating that?

[Scott Rasmussen]

Well, you may be overstating it a little, but I think broadly speaking, you're correct. You know, it is stunning to me that so many Democrats refuse to get behind the idea that biological males should not be allowed to compete in women's sports. They are doubling down on an issue that is supported by 13% of voters. Overwhelmingly. People think that's a bad idea. It's a rejection of common sense. We see the same thing on border security issues. There is just this unwillingness among progressives to, to, to think that's an important issue. In fact, some of them go so far as to say it's unethical to think about having borders. So why they're so far out of touch, I don't know. One of my favorite commentators on this, he now works at aei. He is a long term moderate Democrat. Really, to share a who writes a blog, the Liberal Patriot. You should look at that every day. He really began his new evaluation in the Democratic Party a couple of years ago with a column called the Democrats Common Sense Problem. And he listed 10 issues where they were 80, 20 issues. And the progressive wing of the Democratic Party was on the 20 side and just purging anybody who didn't agree with them. And it's going to take a little while before that comes undone. I would say that if the Republicans, if the economy does come back a little bit and the Republicans can hang on to the house in 2026, you're going to start to see some movement from the Democrats because all of a sudden, they'll be looking at a long time out of power if they don't adjust. If something happens, then Democrats gain control of the House and do pretty well in the Senate races. They may stick to their doubling down approach for a little while longer. New York state has a new recruitment process for Democrat voters. The Watchdog on Wall street podcast with Chris Markowski. Every day Chris helps unpack the connection.

[Matt Kittle]

Between politics and the economy and how.

[Scott Rasmussen]

It affects your wallet. After Doge's purge of the federal workforce, Governor Kathy Hochul is recruiting federal workers to move to New York. Does she really want employment or just more votes?

[Matt Kittle]

Whether it's happening in D.C. or down on Wall street, it's affecting you financially.

[Scott Rasmussen]

Be informed. Check out the Watchdog on Wall street podcast with Chris Markowski on Apple, Spotify.

[Matt Kittle]

Or wherever you get your podcast.

[Scott Rasmussen]

I've got Dan Morgan here on the pod.

[Matt Kittle]

Say hi Dan.

[Scott Rasmussen]

Hey, how's it going today? It's going good, man. Tell us who you are and what you do.

[Matt Kittle]

I'm Dan Morgan. I'm an attorney and a managing partner at Morgan and Morgan, which is America's largest injury law firm firm.

[Scott Rasmussen]

That's pretty awesome. Why do you guys think you win so many cases?

[Matt Kittle]

The insurance companies and other companies that we go against know that we're going.

[Scott Rasmussen]

To take it to the end that.

[Matt Kittle]

We believe in the case.

[Scott Rasmussen]

So we fight for every dollar and.

[Matt Kittle]

We'Re not afraid to go that extra mile for our clients.

[Scott Rasmussen]

Are insurance companies like actually afraid of you guys? We don't bluff. We take it to trial and we.

[Matt Kittle]

Are not strangers of getting very, very, very large verdicts. Awesome.

[Scott Rasmussen]

So how does someone get in contact with Morgan and Morgan, what would I do if I got into an accident.

[Matt Kittle]

In probably the easiest way is dialing pound law. That's £529 from your cell phone. And our call center is always waiting to take your call. 247365 wow.

[Scott Rasmussen]

Dan Morgan from Morgan & Morgan, America's largest injury law firm. Thanks for coming by the.

[Matt Kittle]

Show. Thanks for having me. Visit forthepeople.com for an office near you. An interesting 18 months on that front for sure. Our guest our guest today is renowned pollster Scott Rasmussen, president of RMG Research Incorporated, as we check in on the pulse of America at the dawn of Trump 2.0. So let's take a look at some of those numbers on the key issues. Doge I think we've got to begin at the Department of Government Efficiency. There's a lot of hair on fire in the swamp these days, for sure. How is it truly resonating with the American voter right.

[Scott Rasmussen]

Now? If you talk about Doge, it's important to remember that those of us who live in the political world and talk politics all the time often speak a different language than everyday Americans. So in December, when Doge was getting up and running, only 19% of voters even knew what it was. As of a week ago, only 35% actually know what Doge is all about. So we want to be careful about the terminology. When you talk about the project, people are generally happy with it. Most people approve of the cuts. 48% say that reducing the number of federal employees is good for the economy. 41% say it's bad. Only about a third thinks that things have gone too far in terms of layoffs right now. Most are saying, no, we're not there yet. And at the core of it all is the belief that there's not just waste in the federal government, which people certainly assume and they're happy to see some of it being cleaned up. There's also a belief that there's a tremendous amount of corruption. And we look at some of the projects like the USAID programs, and that just reinforces the attitude. So as long as those things are being talked about and you're cutting at some of the federal bureaucracy, cutting at some of that corruption, it's very positive. My one concern about the way people are talking about it on the, on the Republican and conservative side of the aisle is they're talking about it as a way, you know, we're doing this so we can balance the budget. That's not going to happen. There are a number of factors that are driving the growth of federal spending. And no matter if you eliminate every a penny of waste and corruption and fraud and abuse, spending will continue to go up, sure, at a slower rate, but that's a different question. So right now it's just cleaning up a mess which is very well.

[Matt Kittle]

Received. Yeah, that's the horrifying part about the reality of our national debt is that it is so monstrous, it is so huge, that even the best of intentions, of course in right. Sizing the government cleaning up was, is a small drop in the bucket ultimately to what we, we need to accomplish on, on that front. What about the economy? Old James Carville once said it as, as I understand it, many, many years ago, it's the economy stupid. It remained the economy stupid in a lot of different elections. It certainly was in 2024. And you saw a lot of people on the left not reading the tea leaves on, on that front. And I think it ultimately cost them. That was still the number one issue. How is all of that resonating in the first several weeks of the Trump administration? I know Democrats have done everything they can to blame the price of eggs on Donald Trump. Is that resonating their arguments, first.

[Scott Rasmussen]

Of all, to that question? No, it's not resonating people still, we ask them, which party do you trust to deal with the problem of inflation? They trust Republicans by a 45% to 34% margin. So a double digit edge to the Republicans there is. Inflation is a huge concern to voters. And if it is not addressed, it's going to be a problem in the midterms. Right now, though, voters are saying this is Biden's economy. You know, it's going to take the new guy a little bit of time to, to address this. A year from today, I would guess that Donald Trump will be fully responsible for whatever happens, good or bad, with inflation in the broader sense of the economy. We track on a regular basis, every other week, we do a survey to ask how people are feeling about the economy. And our favorite measure is, are your personal finances getting better or worse? Because that's really what drives your political reaction to the economy. Starting on November 5th, we saw a dramatic reduction in pessimism about the economy. Every time we did a survey, it got less pessimistic. So on election Day or just before election day, 41% of voters said their finances were getting worse. And, and by the time we got to the end of January, it was down to 29%. So just having Trump win the election gave people a sense of hope. In the last few weeks, we've seen that reverse a little bit. There's a lot of confusion about the tariff issue and a lot of ups and downs about that. So we're not seeing things go back to as bad as they were last October in terms of perceptions about the economy. But there are some warning signs, some yellow lights that, that the Trump administration is going to have to address this head.

[Matt Kittle]

On. Let me ask you this, then. Maybe it is the tariffs. Seen a lot of, you know, numbers on that and reporting on that confusion, I think, is the, seems to be the main theme coming out of it. What, what is the, the biggest issue that, that President Trump is so far, at least with the American people, not getting right or not connecting with the American.

[Scott Rasmussen]

People? Well, when he was elected, I said there were three issues that voters were expecting him to deal with. Number one was border security. I Mean, from the, from the first time he rode down that escalator, Donald Trump's signature issue has been securing the border. He clearly addressed that with a lot of executive orders and some other actions and very high profile deportation efforts. And the change has been dramatic. When Joe Biden was In office, only 24% of voters thought the federal government was serious about securing the border. It's up to 69% today. So that was one issue. Second issue was what I might term is a return to normalcy, or what the President would call a common sense revolution around the topic of gender identity. And again, he addressed that with some early actions. Executive orders against boys playing in girls sports, executive orders about there are only two genders. It's not something you're assigned at birth. You are either a male or a female. And so those things he has addressed and I think has gone very, very well. The third issue is the.

[Matt Kittle]

Economy.

[Scott Rasmussen]

And it takes a lot of forms and there's a lot of concerns. Inflation is a big part of it, but that's the issue that he really has to focus on. You can talk about cutting government spending and people are encouraged by that, but they'd rather have a strong economy than a cleaned up government. And so if I was advising the President, that's what I would be saying between now and and November of 2026, you have to make the economy work for all.

[Matt Kittle]

Americans. This election, this last election was in no small part about elections, election security, election integrity. You've done a lot of work on that front. In fact, wasn't just a few days ago you talked about the notion of election integrity, how important that is to the American voter. One note here. You have more than 85% of voters support five basic election reforms as it relates to election integrity. Where, what are those five tenets? Where do people stand on.

[Scott Rasmussen]

Them? I've got Dan Morgan here on the.

[Matt Kittle]

Pod. Say hi.

[Scott Rasmussen]

Dan. Hey, how's it going today? It's going good, man. Tell us who you are and what you.

[Matt Kittle]

Do. I'm Dan Morgan. I'm an attorney and a managing partner at Morgan and Morgan, which is America's largest injury law.

[Scott Rasmussen]

Firm. That's pretty awesome. I think I saw a billboard of yours recently that said 20 billion one. 20 billion is an insane number. Yeah, 20 billion.

[Matt Kittle]

Recovered. It's actually, I think somewhere north, probably closer to 22, 23 after this year. And each year we get bigger and badder and our army.

[Scott Rasmussen]

Grows. So the number will hopefully keep.

[Matt Kittle]

Getting bigger and bigger as time goes on.

[Scott Rasmussen]

Awesome. So how does someone get in contact with Morgan and Morgan. What would I do if I got into an.

[Matt Kittle]

Accident? Probably the easiest way is dialing pound law. That's £529 from your cell phone. We are always open. Our call center is always waiting to take your call. 247 365.

[Scott Rasmussen]

Wow. Dan Morgan from Morgan & Morgan, America's largest injury law firm. Thanks for coming by.

[Matt Kittle]

The show. Thanks for having me. Visit forthepeople.com for an office near you guys. Thanks for helping me carry my.

[Scott Rasmussen]

Christmas tree. Zoe. This thing weighs a ton. Drew Ski, lift with your.

[Matt Kittle]

Legs, man.

[Scott Rasmussen]

Santa. Santa. Santa. Did you get my letter? He's talking to you, Bridges. I'm not. Of course.

[Matt Kittle]

He did. Right, Santa, you know my elf Drew.

[Scott Rasmussen]

Ski here. He handles the nice list and elf. I'm six' three. What everyone wants is iPhone 17 and at T mobile. You can get it on them. That center stage front camera is amazing for group selfies. Right, Mrs. Claus? I'm Mrs. Claus, much younger sister and AT T mobile there's no.

[Matt Kittle]

Trade in needed when.

[Scott Rasmussen]

You switch. So you can keep your old phone or.

[Matt Kittle]

Give it. Does it give? And the best part, you.

[Scott Rasmussen]

Can make the switch to T mobile.

[Matt Kittle]

From your phone in just.

[Scott Rasmussen]

15 minutes. Nice. My side of the tree is slipping. The holidays are better. AT T Mobile switch in just 15 minutes and get iPhone 17 on us with no trade in needed. And now T Mobile is available in US cellular stores with 24 month credits for well qualified customers plus tax and $35 vice connection charge credits and balance 2 if you pay off.

[Matt Kittle]

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[Scott Rasmussen]

Eligible for in a new line $100.

[Matt Kittle]

Plus a month plan without our PayPal taxes fees required to cut in 15 minutes or less.

[Scott Rasmussen]

Per line. Visit t mobile.com look, these are common sense reforms, but I think it's important to step back and look at why this is so important. Only 45% of voters, so fewer than half of all voters say they are very confident that their votes are accurately counted and the correct person declared the winner. Fewer than half of Americans have that confidence. In a nation where the government derives its only just authority from the consent of the governed, that's a crisis. And it's not just Republicans or just Democrats who have that view. The number is virtually identical between the parties. If you go back to 2020, of course Republicans think the election was stolen. If you go back to 2016, Democrats think the election was stolen. So there is a complete lack of confidence in our electoral system. The basic reforms that people embrace are photo ID requirements for everybody who votes, citizens, proof of citizenship to register as part of the voting process, accounting things like making sure that the number of ballots submitted equals the total number of votes that are reported. You know, we are talking.

[Matt Kittle]

These are.

[Scott Rasmussen]

Not, not minor technical details. These are just sort of. Why wouldn't you do this? If people believe that all ballots should be submitted by election day, does if you mail them in, well, that's fine, but get them in by election Day. Why is that important? Well, you know, when your team loses the super bowl, you don't get to play an extra quarter to try and score another touchdown. People have that sense. So they want to see these reforms. And it's really important to note this is not a partisan effort. This is not Trump people who are upset about 2020 or some other group that is complaining about a particular election. This is a broad concern that we need to have confidence in our electoral processes. And it's something that it is hard to talk about because when one party brings it up when they're losing, it's obviously their, their motives are challenged. But it is something that we're going to be seeing talked about a lot in the coming years because people want this country to work and they want the election process to be something they can.

[Matt Kittle]

Believe in. No doubt about that. It's just, it's amazing to me as an elections correspondent here at the Federalist and covering elections and some truly questionable elections in my time, particularly in swing state Wisconsin, it's amazing to me the resistance that continues against where Americans really are on election reform, common sense, election integrity reforms. Is it, is it similar that resistance? Is it similar to what you were talking to before, the bubble notion of some, some of.

[Scott Rasmussen]

These folks? I'm sure that's a part of it and I'm sure a big part of it comes to do with the rhetoric that has been put out. When the Democrats took over Congress a few years back, they tried to push through something called the for the People act, which was an absolutely horrific piece of election legislation. But they produced all kinds of polls showing that 70 or 75% of voters.

[Matt Kittle]

Supported.

[Scott Rasmussen]

It. It. So we went out and did the exact same type of questions and we found 70 or 70% supported that act. When you described it in general terms, and then we asked all those who liked it what they thought it included. The big tell the big story from that was most of the people who said they liked that reform thought it mandated photo ID requirements for all elections. In fact, it banned photo ID requirements When we went back in the field and gave that information to people, support fell from the 70% range to in the 20s because people thought that was a basic reform. But what's happened is there's groups like the Brennan center that have adopted this terminology of voter suppression and they're routinely putting out. You know, the Republican legislatures introduced 312 voter suppression measures last year. If you look at what most of them are, they are things like photo ID requirements, they are things like citizenship requirements. And it just amazes me that they're not able to get out of that bubble with the for the People Act. I believe the Democrats could have passed that and could have had it be successful if they had only dropped the ban on photo ID requirements. That was the big silver bullet that that hurt it. But they were unwilling to.

[Matt Kittle]

Do so. You've been very generous with your time and I very much appreciate it. You are an extremely busy gentleman. You have been for a long time editor at large at Ballotpedia. I love the number of the day. I look at that on a regular basis. There's one up as we record today about FDR and vetoes, which I particularly enjoyed as a history buff. But I do want to finish out our conversation with. I don't think a lot of people know. They know Scott Rasmussen, you know, the renowned pollster. They don't know that this is the guy who with his father many years ago started a little network, little sporting network called espn. I do have to ask you, much has changed since the early days when I used to tune in and watch the Strongest man competition or log rolling or whatever. It was the programming, you know, the very interesting sporting programming that you would have there in the early days. You didn't have the big contracts, of course, for a lot of these major events. Much has changed since then. What do you think of the.

[Scott Rasmussen]

ESPN today? You know, it's funny, when I think of espn, I think of the early days, I think of before we went on the air and all the challenges and it's such a phenomenal memory. And I remember in our earliest days on the air we showed something called Irish hurling, which we got. We aired because we got free.

[Matt Kittle]

Tapes, right? Yeah, I.

[Scott Rasmussen]

Love it. And within this is pre Internet, obviously. Obviously. And we started getting swamped with calls about what are the leagues and how can we follow it. And it just caught us off guard with how much the demand for this was. And as for where it is today, I've been uninvolved for a very long time. And so it's just another sports outlet to me because it's not the place that I remember ESPN is involved. They're doing a documentary on the founding days. I don't know when they plan to release it, but I did an interview for it a week or two ago and it brought up a lot of fun memories from the early days and that's what I will.

[Matt Kittle]

Always cherish. Yeah, very good. No, it is true. It is, it is definitely not the network that you and your father started and we'll, we'll just leave it at that. I wish we had more time. We could talk for a good, good long time about all of the issues of the day. But I do appreciate you taking some time for a little perspective on the early days of 2.0.

[Scott Rasmussen]

In particular. Well, thank you and have a.

[Matt Kittle]

Great day. Absolutely. Thanks to my guest today, renowned pollster Scott Rasmussen. You've been listening to another edition of the Federalist Radio Hour. I'm Matt kd, senior elections correspondent at the Federalist. We'll be back soon with more. Until then, stay lovers of freedom and anxious for.

[Scott Rasmussen]

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[Matt Kittle]

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[Scott Rasmussen]

Apple flavors. Bright Eye Berries got a feisty receiver energy up an apple. Your classic do it all tight end, soft, pillowy, packed with protein and easy enough for Gronk to grab from the freezer. Whether you're on the couch, driving to the tailgate or heading to the locker room, New Morning Uncrustable Sandwiches are the MVP of snacks. Your new Sunday kickoff ritual starts here with new Morning Uncrustable sandwiches packed with 12 grams of protein. Guys, thanks for helping me carry my Christmas tree. Zoe, this thing weighs a ton. Drew Ski Lift with your legs, man. Santa, did you get my letter? He's talking to you, Bridges. I'm not. Of course he did.

[Matt Kittle]

Right, Santa? You know my elf.

[Scott Rasmussen]

Drew here. He handles the nice list. And elf, I'm six' three. What everyone wants is iPhone 17 and at T Mobile. You can get it on them. That center stage front camera is amazing for group selfies. Right, Mrs. Claus? I'm Mrs. Claus's much younger sister. And AT T Mobile, there's.

[Matt Kittle]

No trade in needed when.

[Scott Rasmussen]

You switch. So you can keep your.

[Matt Kittle]

Old phone or give it as a gift. And the best part, you.

[Scott Rasmussen]

Can make the switch to T mobile.

[Matt Kittle]

From your phone in just.

[Scott Rasmussen]

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[Matt Kittle]

Is.

[Scott Rasmussen]

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[Matt Kittle]

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[Scott Rasmussen]

In a new line, $100 plus a.

[Matt Kittle]

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