Independent voter approval saw a sharp uptick as Trump slammed Hunter Biden
Fox News Digital focus group reacts to Trump saying his retribution will be success
A group of voters polled by Fox News Digital in real time react to former President Trump's 'retribution' comment.
Independent voters in Fox News Digital's focus group appeared to overwhelmingly approve of former President Trump's response to a question about his "retribution" — and his description of President Biden's son, Hunter Biden, as "a convicted felon" — during Thursday night's CNN Presidential Debate.
"My retribution is going to be success," Trump said. "But when [President Biden] talks about a convicted felon — his son is a convicted felon. At a very high level, his son is convicted, gonna be convicted probably numerous other times, should have been convicted before."
Approvals from Democrats trended downward during the answer. Meanwhile, Republican approval continued to increase throughout Trump's comments.
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Former President Trump, left, and President Biden faced off Thursday night during the CNN Presidential Debate. (Getty Images )
"As soon as he gets out of office, Joe could be a convicted felon with all of the things that he's done," Trump said.
He later added: "This man is a criminal. This man, you're lucky, you're lucky. I did nothing wrong. We have a system that was rigged and disgusting."
Meanwhile, Biden pushed back, saying the idea that he has committed any wrongdoing is "outrageous."
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Former President Trump, left and President Biden debated on Thursday night. (Getty Images)
"It's simply a lie," Biden said. "Number two, the idea that you have a right to seek retribution against any American just because you're president is wrong. No president has ever spoken like that before. No president in our history has spoken like that before."
Democrat approval saw an uptick during Biden's comments, but the approvals of independent and Republican voters trended downward.
CNN flash poll from Thursday's debate. (CNN)
Focus group participants reacted in real time to Biden and Trump, turning dials to indicate approval or disapproval. In the video embedded in this story, Republican participant sentiment is graphed in red, Democrat sentiment in blue and independents are represented in yellow.
Jamie Joseph is a writer who covers politics. She leads Fox News Digital coverage of the Senate.
