Welcome to the online edition of From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings the latest reports and analysis from the NBC News Politics team’s White House, Capitol Hill and Campaign Trail.
Today’s edition brings you the findings of a new focus group of black men who voted for Donald Trump in 2024. Jonathan Allen sifts through the White House spins in an episode of a group chat.
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– Adam Walner
A black man who supports Trump approves his presidency, but raises some concerns about Doge
Bridget Bowman and Ben Camizar
A new focus group with a black man who voted for Donald Trump in the swing state in November showed that while almost all of them remained solid with him, government efficiency and his tariffs are potential issues.
A group of 12 voters – participated in a recent focus group observed by NBC News as part of the 2025 Deciders series produced by Syracuse University and research firm Engagious and Sago. Ten of them voted for 2024, and the other two said they wouldn’t vote for Trump again if they were to be redoed.
Doge: With regard to Elon Musk and Doge, the outcome was much more complicated. Five said they approved Doge’s actions, but three said they were disapproved and the rest were not convinced yet.
Within Doge’s support, spending audits and reductions were seen as bringing a bit of the private sector to government jobs, aimed at increasing the efficiency of employees that taxpayers pay.
“Every business needs someone to audit them. You shouldn’t be out of hand. You shouldn’t be a sacred cow,” said Dorris S., 56, who is independent from Pennsylvania. “They’re there to maximize productivity and efficiency. I was managing the restaurant and there was a health inspector.”
Meanwhile, Thomas A., a 49-year-old Democrat from Georgia who voted for Joe Biden in 2020 and switched to Trump in 2024, said he was worried about Trump’s power being delegated to Musk while Doge was doing “some good thing.” He also wondered whether Doge’s work was against pushing to improve the economy and help Americans on a daily basis.
“He’s so focused on cutting weeds and messiness, but he needs to focus on the economy and how to help people,” he said of Trump.
Tariffs: Only three out of the 12 participants positively and positively said Trump has made inflation a top priority. Two voters who disapproved Trump after voting for him both raised concerns about tariffs.
Democrats: Still, this group of voters used words like “liar,” “unreliable,” “profanely,” “strange agenda,” and “weak.” to describe today’s party.
Read more from Focus Group →
Things you need to know from today’s President Trump
Trump has cited the nomination of Rn.Y. Rep. Elise Stefanik to become the United Nations US ambassador, citing concerns about the House’s small margin to enact his legislative agenda. Stefanik stayed in Congress, where speaker Mike Johnson said she had an unspecified leadership role. A federal judge ordered the Trump administration agencies involved in group chats regarding the attack on Yemen to “preserve all signalling communications from March 11th to March 15th.” Roger Wicker, R-Miss. and Jack Reed Dr., chairman and ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, plans to cut 10,000 full-time employment at several agencies. Homeland security secretary Christinoem visited a high security prison in El Salvador where deported Venezuelans are in detention.
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Sieve White House spins with leaked signal chat
Analysis by Jonathan Allen
In a time when Trump administration officials have worked so hard to turn the crimes out since the group chat was released.
Trump attacked a journalist who was carelessly included in a signal thread, apparently Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic. And the president’s amplifier suggests that there is negligence in the National Security Council to put Goldberg in.
This distracts national security adviser Mike Waltz on a hot sheet exempting the remaining high-ranking officials in chat, distracting attention from the most surprising aspects of the episode.
The White House wants to praise the Secretary of Defense for sharing military operations plans against Hoosies, outside of the secure government communications system.
Similarly, Trump’s team would prefer a team if he didn’t pay attention to the fact that some Cabinet Secretaries, White House Chief of Staff and White House Deputy Chief of Staff appeared to have chosen not to oppose using commercial apps that allow users to delete messages.
Management officials point out that the strike against the Hoosis was a successful one, as if to arrive safely at the home was justification for reckless driving.
White House officials and Attorney General Pam Bondy argue that none of them are classified. That’s also a distraction. Even if the information is classified, there is no world in which the White House accepts that all these people are careless about this information. Also, Bondy does not indict department or agency leaders, so it is unrelated as a practical matter.
None of these excuses will help Trump. They don’t make him appear stronger or stronger to national security.
As NBC News reported Wednesday, it’s not just Democrats asking Trump to fire someone. There are Maga Republicans who think Trump should find someone to fall. If he doesn’t, there’s a risk of leaving him dirty. And then it doesn’t spin.
Related Readings:
Timeline: Alexandra Bacalao and Alexandra Marquez’s changing attitudes towards signal chat catastrophe
DHS staff faces serious punishment for accidentally adding a reporter to a group email by Julia Ainsley
today’s other top stories
ryventy country meaning: The Wisconsin Supreme Court competition has emerged as the first major test of the Democratic anti-Eron Musk playbook as the party is searching for a winning message after losing to Trump in November. Read more → “Line”: Trump will host two Teletown halls tonight for two Republican candidates in a special House election in Florida next Tuesday. Read more → “Uncle Sam Needs”: The new politics is co-chaired by Rep. Pat Ryan, with a focus on supporting candidates from a background of service, recruiting thousands of people to run Barot up and down for the next four years. Read more Voting rights advocates say it’s the first time the state has overturned such a policy. Read more → “Rain or Glow: At least 10 Weather Balloon Launch Sites are suspending or limiting routine balloon releases as the Trump administration cut down on National Weather Service staff. Experts say it will reduce the quality of forecasts. Read more → 👀 Being Greenland isn’t easy: The Greenlanders say they are preparing to receive Vice President J.D. Vance ahead of his planned trip, which he calls “the cold shoulder of the Arctic,” amid Trump’s repeated calls to take over a mineral-rich island. Read more →
For now, it’s all from the political desk. Today’s newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner and Faith Wardwell.
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