Opinion | Donald Trump 2024, Kevin McCarthy and Jan. 6: 12 Republicans Discuss

As the Jan. 6 committee was winding down its work last month, we asked ourselves a question: Did all those televised hearings, all those hours of testimony, all those chapters in the final report actually change any minds? Looking for answers, Times Opinion decided to hold an unusual focus group: We invited back several Republican voters who spoke in our first focus group a year ago. Back then, they discussed the Jan. 6 attack, democracy and President Donald Trump; this time around, we read some of their old comments back to them and talked about whether the committee’s work had affected their opinions about Jan. 6 and Mr. Trump.

Granted, this was just a handful of Republicans; there are countless other opinions out there. But these 12 Republicans, at least, were emphatic and unanimous: None of the hearings or testimonies changed how they thought about Jan. 6.

Indeed, the committee’s intense focus on Mr. Trump left some of them feeling sympathetic for him, and 10 of the 12 said they were glad he was running for president again. Several of the focus group participants argued that the committee was biased against Mr. Trump from the get-go and that the testimonies — even from former close aides like Cassidy Hutchinson — were more about currying favor with the Washington establishment than about bringing truths to light.

Still, these Republicans had frustrations with Mr. Trump and even more with the G.O.P., as well as with House Republicans after their struggle to elect Kevin McCarthy as speaker. As issues went, Covid and inflation were on the voters’ minds. But many of them were also feeling good about America, seeing it as a singular land of opportunity and taking heart in the way many Americans came together to pull and pray for the Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin after his injury last week.

“We still know when to come together when it counts,” said Justin, a 39-year-old Republican from Louisiana.