The 'double disapprovers' could decide the election. Here's what they have to say

With the November presidential election approaching, some voters are wondering how we again ended up with Donald Trump and Joe Biden as the presumptive nominees.

"I find it hard to believe that in the entire nation of millions and millions of people, that we are right back to the line of two people."

That's how one participant put it in a recent focus group run by Rich Thau of Engagious, a public research firm. NPR partnered with him and Sago market research to hear from voters.

The focus groups were conducted with 12 swing voters who live in swing states. All participants had switched their votes from Trump to Biden in 2020. (It's important to note these focus groups were done before Trump was convicted on 34 felony fraud charges. Yet only one person said a conviction would stop them voting for him.)

In a race that will likely be won on the margins, swing voters will play a critical part of the electorate this year. That's because 14% of voters disapprove of both Biden and Trump, according to Marist, NPR's polling partner.

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What the voters said

The 12 focus group participants were very clear on their feelings towards Biden and Trump. Here's what they said when asked to say the first word that comes to mind about Biden:

• "Struggling"
• "Senile"
• "Concerned"

For many participants, Biden's age was central to their negative feelings. They had kinder words for him as a person.

Trump didn't fare much better, with participants describing him this way:

• "Jackass"
• "Unhinged"
• "Offensive"

The participants voiced negative views mostly towards Trump's