Voter Roundtable: Americans Talk Across Divides

Hear the On Point listener mailbag with voicemails on impeachment, insurrection and democracy here. 

We bring back guests from our voter roundtable series to hear how they're thinking through insurrection and impeachment. Can Americans talk with each other across political divides?

Lucas Johnson, executive director of civil conversations and social healing for the On Being Project. Community organizer, writer and a minister in the American Baptist Churches. (@onbeing)

Lupe Harpster, owner of a Tex-Mex restaurant in Erie, Michigan. She was hospitalized from April 1 to April 28 with COVID-19, including 10 days on a ventilator. She voted for Trump.

Mike Richards, commercial airline pilot. He voted for Trump.

Bella D’Alacio, student at George Mason University. She voted for Biden.

Vadim Ostrovsky, sales manager. He voted for Biden.

Matt Powell, marine veteran and car salesman. He voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020.

Daniele Anderson, former naval officer. Chief strategist at the nonprofit the Black Veterans Project. She voted for Biden.

Reuters: "Republican Party faces rage from both pro- and anti-Trump voters" — "After riots at the U.S. Capitol by President Donald Trump’s supporters, the Republican Party is facing defections from two camps of voters it can’t afford to lose: those saying Trump and his allies went too far in contesting the election of Democrat Joe Biden - and those saying they didn’t go far enough, according to new polling and interviews with two dozen voters."

Washington Post: "The Capitol siege shows how White Americans can express anger that Black Americans cannot" — "As the nation and world were transfixed by the sight of pro-Trump insurrectionists storming the U.S. Capitol last week, a familiar refrain emerged: Had this been a Black-led protest, the police response would have been swift and unsparing rather than tepid and restrained."

NBC News: "Trump impeachment may define the future of a divided Republican Party" — "With the impeachment vote Wednesday, Republicans stand on the brink of a historic decision over whether to punish or protect a president who many say incited a deadly mob to overrun the U.S. Capitol in a push to overturn the election result."

Pew Research Center: "What Biden and Trump supporters tell us in their own words about America’s political divisions" — "One of the fascinating things about being a public opinion researcher is hearing from all kinds of Americans about a variety of topics. One of the best ways to learn what’s on people’s minds is to ask them 'open-ended' questions – no pre-set answers or response options, just their unfiltered thoughts and impressions."