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What we cover? The Cygnal Pulse Pod dives deep into American politics, using the latest polling data to dissect voter behavior, public opinion shifts, and key issues like border crises....
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What we cover?
The Cygnal Pulse Pod dives deep into American politics, using the latest polling data to dissect voter behavior, public opinion shifts, and key issues like border crises. It entertains and informs on various aspects of campaigning.
You get?
Listeners gain a comprehensive, data-driven understanding of the political landscape, uncovering surprising trends and insights that shape the nation's future. Political operatives and curious citizens alike can stay informed with expert analysis on the numbers, candidates, and power plays defining the next election season.
Who we are?
The Pulse Pod is hosted by Cygnal's CEO, Brent Buchanan, and features insights from various Cygnal pollsters and data experts such as Brock McCleary, Mitch Brown, Chris Lane, John Rogers, Mike Yelovich, and Noah Wyhof-Rudnick. Cygnal is a polling, analytics, and targeting firm serving GOP campaigns and center-right public affairs efforts.
show less
The Cygnal Pulse Pod dives deep into American politics, using the latest polling data to dissect voter behavior, public opinion shifts, and key issues like border crises. It entertains and informs on various aspects of campaigning.
You get?
Listeners gain a comprehensive, data-driven understanding of the political landscape, uncovering surprising trends and insights that shape the nation's future. Political operatives and curious citizens alike can stay informed with expert analysis on the numbers, candidates, and power plays defining the next election season.
Who we are?
The Pulse Pod is hosted by Cygnal's CEO, Brent Buchanan, and features insights from various Cygnal pollsters and data experts such as Brock McCleary, Mitch Brown, Chris Lane, John Rogers, Mike Yelovich, and Noah Wyhof-Rudnick. Cygnal is a polling, analytics, and targeting firm serving GOP campaigns and center-right public affairs efforts.
Episodes & Posts
Episodes
Posts
20 MAY 2025 · Cygnal's Pulse Pod Ep. 77 - AOC More Popular than Schumer, Trump Image Improving, GOP Decimating Dems on Key Issue Trust: NVT Poll w/ Pollsters Brent Buchanan and John Rogers - Join us for the latest episode of Cygnal's Pulse Pod as we dive into the most recent political trends and public opinion shifts that are reshaping America's political landscape. Our data-driven analysis reveals some surprising developments that you won't want to miss.
Highlights:
- First 100 Days: despite complete saturation of negative news https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/rich-noyes/2025/04/28/tv-news-assaults-2nd-trump-admin-92-negative-coverage (92%), President Trump and Congressional Republicans outpace Democrats’ favorability/trust maintaining an edge on multiple key issues – on the economy (R+2), cost of living (R+2), illegal immigration (R+25), crime and public safety (R+13), cutting waste/spending (R+18), and foreign affairs (R+2). Married women (8%), union members (10%), and Hispanics (4%) also all swung to the GOP since April.
- AOC vs. Schumer: fresh off the “Fighting Oligarchy” tour, AOC’s favorables (39% fav., 40% unfav.) versus that of Senator Chuck Schumer’s (33% fav., 49% unfav.) highlight not just a potential contentious Democratic primary battle for the senator’s seat in 2026, but accentuated ideological battles within the party. Add in that former President Obama, now eight years removed from office, is still seen as the leader (13%) of the Democratic Party, dominating all others like Schumer (10%), Harris (7%), Booker (6%), AOC (5%), and Jeffries (5%) – with most voters (33%) saying they were unsure of who the leader is.
- Above All Else: 52 percent of voters said President Trump should focus the most on reducing the costs of living. No other issue comes even half as close with cutting wasteful spending (21%), bringing jobs back to America (18%), securing the border (18%) and deporting dangerous illegals (18%).
- Negotiate Everything: 58 percent support President Trump’s attempts to renegotiate trade deals with foreign countries, including 63% of swing voters. Additionally, 48 percent of voters support increasing tariffs on China as a way to force better trading terms for the United States.
- DOGE Disconnect: 21 percent of voters want President Trump to focus on cutting government spending while DOGE, the entity largely in charge of this endeavor, has an underwater image of 48 unfavorable versus 44 percent favorable. This represents a messaging opportunity for the White House to showcase DOGE’s right-sizing of the federal government.
15 APR 2025 · - Cygnal's Pulse Pod Ep. 76 - Dems Struggle as Trump Maintains Strong Approval, Even in Light of Tariffs: NVT Poll w/ Pollsters Brent Buchanan and Chris Lane - Join us for the latest episode of Cygnal's Pulse Pod as we dive into the most recent political trends and public opinion shifts that are reshaping America's political landscape. Our data-driven analysis reveals some surprising developments that you won't want to miss.
Highlights:
- Trump Holds Steady: the President’s job approval remains steady at 47 percent, unchanged from March. He has gained some ground among Independents to counterbalance some losses among college-educated women and those making over six figures. Trump has more than held his gains with Hispanic men – eliciting 54% approval.
- Dems Losing More Ground: voters view Democrats less favorably than congressional Republicans by 4 percent and Democrats have seen a net negative 19 percent shift among Independent voters. The –15 net negative image (40% fav / 55% unfav) represents a new low for the party.
- On Tariffs: voters’ views on the impact of tariffs are mixed. Among Republicans, 55 percent believe the tariffs are needed to balance-out international trade, while a quarter (25%) are unsure about tariffs, but they trust President Trump’s leadership on the issue. Overall, 50 percent of voters believe the tariffs will raise the cost of goods and prolong inflation. Yet, optimism about the direction of country (44% right track) remains steady, showing voters aren’t tying the tariff issues to how the country is doing.
- Illegals are Illegal: nearly one-in-four Democrats do not believe people who have entered the United States without legal permission have broken the law, while 79 percent of Hispanic voters say those individuals have broken the law. Contrary to the gaslighting of some Democratic politicians, more than three quarters (77%) of all voters also believe people who are in the U.S. without permission have broken our laws by entering without legal permission.
- DOGE Waste: 43 percent of voters have a favorable view of DOGE, while nearly two-in-three (65%) believe that widespread waste, fraud, and inefficiencies impact the quality of critical benefits like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. But Democrats (49%) remain out of touch saying there is no impact on these services by waste and fraud, even when older Americans (F 55+ 45%; M 55+ 53%) who are more likely to receive the benefits say the opposite.
- Levels of Gov’t Approval: mayors, township/village presidents have the highest job approval (59%) compared to other elected officials with Members of Congress (55%) coming in second. Republicans (63%) are more likely to approve of their Member of Congress while Independents disapprove more strongly of officials across all levels of government.
- Partisan Judges: Democrats (47%) were less likely than Republicans (56%) and Independents (55%) to think judges were influenced by their party affiliation. Overall, 52 percent think judges are influenced a lot by partisan affiliations and 51 percent oppose federal judges overturning laws and executive actions they don’t agree with. Hispanic voters (56% oppose) are most opposed to the judicial activism that’s taken place in Trump 2.0. Apparently, they don’t seem to think as much of MS-13 or TdA as liberal judges.
- Separate But (not) Equal: a plurality (42%) of voters said the legislative branch should have the most influence in setting national policy, but Republicans differ with 56 percent preferring the President to set policies. Forty percent of swing voters prefer the legislative branch.
19 MAR 2025 · Cygnal's Pulse Pod: 48% Support Trump Negotiating Settlement to War in Ukraine as Optimism at Home Rises - Join us for the latest episode of Cygnal's Pulse Pod as we dive into the most recent political trends and public opinion shifts that are reshaping America's political landscape. Our data-driven analysis reveals some surprising developments that you won't want to miss.
Highlights:
Top Priorities: ‘Threats to democracy’ rose five points to an all-time high (22%) while concerns about inflation and the economy ticked up by two points remaining the number one priority. Trump’s massive action to curtail illegal border crossings by over 90 percent and deploy more resources has resulted in a three-point drop among Americans’ top issues. Sentiments at Home vs. Abroad: for the second straight month since we’ve been running this NVT poll, optimism about the direction of the country (45%) is at its highest level. Additionally, 42 percent believe things are getting better in America. Looking abroad, just 27 percent think things on the world stage are getting better while 64 percent say things are getting worse. America’s Role: Less than half of Americans (43%) say America should play a leading role in promoting democracy worldwide while 38 percent say our role should be more supportive and 12 percent said we should be neutral. Negotiate with Putin? 48 percent support President Trump engaging in direct negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin to seek a resolution to the ongoing war with Ukraine. Sixty-nine percent of Democrats oppose this approach. Seventy-nine percent of Americans have an unfavorable view of Russia. Yay or NATO? Sentiment towards NATO has taken a hit over the past three years with only (55%) of Americans have a favorable opinion of NATO while 28 percent have an unfavorable opinion, largely driven by non-college men (41%) and Republicans (46%). Democrats (72%), Independents (61%), and college-educated (66%) have the most favorable opinions of NATO. United Nations Funding: views among Americans are mixed (43% support; 44% oppose) regarding President Trump’s executive order to withdraw funding for certain U.N. programs citing contradictions with American interests and value. Who’s the Superpower? 66 percent say the United States is the world’s leading superpower while 21 percent say China is the leader. Over a third (31%) of Black Americans say China is the leader over the U.S. Overall, Americans have an unfavorable opinion of China (75%) while only 13 percent have a favorable view. Every demo, except Blacks (45%), had a 50+ percent negative view of China. Most Disliked: three quarters (75%) of Americans of have an unfavorable opinion of Iran, including voters who switched to Trump (57%) in 2024 from Biden in 2020. Eighteen percent have no opinion of Iran and only seven percent have a favorable opinion.
Quick Hits:
- USA Image (71% favorable; 26% unfavorable)
- Trump Image (47% favorable; 52% unfavorable)
- Biden Image (40% favorable; 55% unfavorable)
- Elon Musk Image (42% favorable; 53% unfavorable)
- Congressional Republicans (44% favorable; 52% unfavorable)
- Congressional Democrats (40% favorable; 54% unfavorable)
11 MAR 2025 · Cygnal's Pulse Pod: LIVE from Dubai, New Data Shows Middle Easterners WAY More Positive About the U.S. Than Americans - Join us for this special episode of Cygnal's Pulse Pod as we dive into our recent poll in the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Qatar) presented by Pollsters Brent Buchanan and Alex Tarascio. This survey breaks down interesting views on international affairs and optimism about the direction of America among other key issues.
A Couple Episode Highlights:
Global Direction: generally speaking, 59 percent of respondents said things in the world are getting better versus 35 percent who said they’re getting worse. Contrast this with the United States where 64 percent said things were getting worse versus 27 percent saying things are on the upswing.
Trump Image: Middle Easterners who have no opinion (13%) of Trump offset his unfavorable image (36%) while his favorable image (48%) is one point higher than Americans’ (47%).
Effectiveness of NGOs? Middle Easterners, who have arguably had more interaction with international NGOs than American voters, are more likely to believe these organizations are effective in addressing global challenges (57% say NGOs are effective). In contrast, American voters, who have contributed more financially to NGOs, are more skeptical, with a plurality (43%) saying NGOs are ineffective.
Global Images:
- United States: among Americans (71% fav.; 26% unfav.), among Middle Easterners (55% fav.; 32% unfav.)
- Russia: among Americans (11% fav.; 79% unfav.), among Middle Easterners (54% fav.; 30% unfav.)
- China: among Americans (13% fav.; 75% unfav.), among Middle Easterners (69% fav.; 19% unfav.)
- Iran: among Americans (7% fav.; 75% unfav.), among Middle Easterners (32% fav.; 48% unfav.)
Brent Buchanan X - @brentbuc
Alex Tarascio X - @alextarascio
13 FEB 2025 · Cygnal's Pulse Pod: Trump's Surprising Surge and America's Shifting Landscape - Join us for the latest episode of Cygnal's Pulse Pod as we dive into the most recent political trends and public opinion shifts that are reshaping America's political landscape. Our data-driven analysis reveals some surprising developments that you won't want to miss.
Episode Highlights:
Black Men Love Trump: We'll explore the unexpected political realignment as Trump makes significant inroads with historically Democratic-leaning constituencies. A staggering 42% of black men now approve of Trump's job performance.
Top Issues: Discover why inflation and the economy have become the nation's primary concern, overshadowing previous hot-button issues like immigration.
Party Perceptions: We'll break down the current favorability ratings of Democrats and Republicans in Washington, with some surprising results.
COVID-19 Origins: Learn about the growing consensus regarding the origins of the COVID-19 virus, with two-thirds of Americans now believing it likely originated from a Chinese lab.
National Mood: Find out why Americans are suddenly feeling more optimistic about the country's direction.
Trump's Wins: We'll discuss several of Trump's policies that are gaining traction with the public, including:
- Merit-based hiring vs. DEI initiatives
- Declassification of historical assassination files
- Immigration and border security measures
- Support for reducing government spending
- Tariffs on China
- The surprising public opinion on acquiring Greenland
Mixed Reviews: We'll also touch on some policies receiving mixed public support, such as birthright citizenship and tariffs on Mexico and Canada. Don't miss this comprehensive look at the evolving American political landscape. Subscribe to Cygnal's Pulse Pod for in-depth analysis and expert insights on the latest trends shaping our nation's future.
Brent Buchanan X - @brentbuc
John Rogers X - @johnrogersal
31 OCT 2024 · In this special BONUS episode of the Cygnal Pulse Pod, President and Founder Brent Buchanan, together with Vice President Brock McCleary, discuss insights into the latest data shifts as the 2024 election cycle reaches its final stretch. Our experts take a deeper dive into the data in this podcast episode and illuminate pivotal trends and changes in voter behavior, offering a timely examination of the data’s implications for the current political landscape with just days to go until Election Day. Listen now and SUBSCRIBE!
10 OCT 2024 · On the latest episode of the Cygnal Pulse Pod, Cygnal Pollster, Founder, and President Brent Buchanan sits down with our Director of Innovation Noah Wyhof-Rudnick to discuss key takeaways from the data presented in October's national voter survey from NVT Live. Listen to expert opinion and analysis on how the election is shaping up as we are now under 4 weeks until Election Day. This is the perfect listen if you were unable to join our online panel to discover new key insights.
23 SEP 2024 · In this new episode of the Cygnal Pulse Pod, our pollsters and data experts reflect on key data from our latest poll on all the battleground districts nationwide after the second Presidential debate wrapped. Listen to VP of Polling Brock McCleary and Director of Polling Mike Yelovich to gain a comprehensive understanding of the prevailing political winds shaping these KEY districts as we edge closer and closer to November and discover questions asked live during the presentation. This is the perfect listen if you were unable to join our Battlegrounds Zoom Presentation!
22 AUG 2024 · On the latest episode of the Cygnal Pulse Pod, Cygnal Pollster Chris Lane sits down with our Director of Innovation Noah Wyhof-Rudnick to discuss key takeaways from the data presented in August's national voter survey from NVT Live. Listen to expert opinion and analysis on how the election is shaping up as we edge closer to November. This is the perfect listen if you were unable to join our online panel to discover new key insights.
16 JUL 2024 · In this new episode of the Cygnal Pulse Pod, our pollsters and data experts reflect on key data from our latest poll on all the battleground districts nationwide after the first Presidential debate wrapped. Listen to VP of Polling Brock McCleary and Director of Polling Mike Yelovich to gain a comprehensive understanding of the political dynamics shaping these key states, follow the national trends until election day, and discover questions asked live during the presentation. Be on the lookout for new battlegrounds data in September up to election day!
What we cover? The Cygnal Pulse Pod dives deep into American politics, using the latest polling data to dissect voter behavior, public opinion shifts, and key issues like border crises....
show more
What we cover?
The Cygnal Pulse Pod dives deep into American politics, using the latest polling data to dissect voter behavior, public opinion shifts, and key issues like border crises. It entertains and informs on various aspects of campaigning.
You get?
Listeners gain a comprehensive, data-driven understanding of the political landscape, uncovering surprising trends and insights that shape the nation's future. Political operatives and curious citizens alike can stay informed with expert analysis on the numbers, candidates, and power plays defining the next election season.
Who we are?
The Pulse Pod is hosted by Cygnal's CEO, Brent Buchanan, and features insights from various Cygnal pollsters and data experts such as Brock McCleary, Mitch Brown, Chris Lane, John Rogers, Mike Yelovich, and Noah Wyhof-Rudnick. Cygnal is a polling, analytics, and targeting firm serving GOP campaigns and center-right public affairs efforts.
show less
The Cygnal Pulse Pod dives deep into American politics, using the latest polling data to dissect voter behavior, public opinion shifts, and key issues like border crises. It entertains and informs on various aspects of campaigning.
You get?
Listeners gain a comprehensive, data-driven understanding of the political landscape, uncovering surprising trends and insights that shape the nation's future. Political operatives and curious citizens alike can stay informed with expert analysis on the numbers, candidates, and power plays defining the next election season.
Who we are?
The Pulse Pod is hosted by Cygnal's CEO, Brent Buchanan, and features insights from various Cygnal pollsters and data experts such as Brock McCleary, Mitch Brown, Chris Lane, John Rogers, Mike Yelovich, and Noah Wyhof-Rudnick. Cygnal is a polling, analytics, and targeting firm serving GOP campaigns and center-right public affairs efforts.
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