Republican Party pollster Frank Luntz has claimed that Donald Trump is committing “political suicide” as entire voting blocs have collapsed in favor of Kamala Harris, leading to a major shift in the campaign.
Luntz explained on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Wednesday morning that Harris has the support of undecided voters, who have largely “collapsed” in her favor.
“The whole constituency has changed,” Luntz told hosts Andrew Ross Sorkin and Melissa Lee.
The pollster attributed the shift to Trump’s campaign decisions, declaring that the former president was declining.
“It’s like he’s lost control,” Luntz fumed. “And I know there are billionaires watching this show who are spending a lot of money on Donald Trump, and they don’t understand why he’s committing political suicide.”
Republican pollster Frank Luntz told the hosts of CNBC’s Squawk Box that if the general election were held today, Kamala Harris would defeat Donald Trump.
The pollster also criticized Trump’s campaign decisions, declaring that the former president was slipping.
Toward the beginning of the interview, Ross Sorkin noted that “polls in the presidential race show Vice President Harris gaining ground in some key states and even eroding some of former President Trump’s lead in Florida.”
He continued: “Our next guest says that if the election were held today, she would win.”
A visibly surprised Ross Sorkin joked: “Now that’s a twist.”
“It’s more than that,” Luntz replied.
“That’s a plot twist,” Ross Sorkin joked.
“He’s attracting people who are not interested in voting for either Trump or Biden. So the whole voting pool has changed,” the veteran pollster said.
Luntz went on to explain that if things continued as they were, Democrats could win more than just the White House: they could also keep the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Veteran Republican pollster Frank Luntz declared Trump was “committing political suicide”
Luntz said undecided voters were “collapsing” in favor of Harris
“She has intensity now,” the polling guru said of Harris. “She has an intensity advantage. She has a demographic advantage.”
At that point, host Melissa Lee stepped in and asked how she expected this lead to translate into votes.
“How big is that? That little extra voter that he’s attracting? I mean, how much does that change the voting pool?”
“One percent. Maybe two,” Luntz replied. “But that’s enough.”
Then Ross Sorkin balked, questioning the Republican strategist about the accuracy of his polling data.
Luntz said conditions, such as immigration and security issues, favor Trump in the election.
“There was an interesting report yesterday showing that if you look at where Donald Trump was in terms of what the polls were showing, in 2016 he was undercounted, you know, even in 2020 he was undercounted,” Ross Sorkin said.
And he continued: “And then you start to think about the margin of error or a situation where maybe she wins by one or two percent. But has Trump’s vote been fully counted?”
Luntz addressed Sorkin’s concern by saying his process is not “just about crunching numbers.”
‘It’s also about holding focus groups to listen, to understand why people feel that way.’
The veteran pollster then revealed that his focus groups are repeatedly “interrupted by young women who say, ‘I’m not going to vote for him anymore.'”
As Harris continues to gain momentum, Trump continues to make poor strategic decisions, according to Luntz
He attributed this phenomenon to a “broad shift” in the electoral blocs.
“People who are undecided have gone to Harris. People who are weak on Trump have gone to the undecided,” Luntz said.
She continued: “I’m trying to do a focus group tonight with undecided voters under the age of 27 for a major news outlet. And I can’t recruit young women for this because they don’t exist as undecided voters.”
While Harris continues to gain momentum, Trump continues to make poor strategic decisions, according to Luntz.
“The issues and conditions were in Donald Trump’s favor,” the pollster said. “He should have won the election, but he didn’t.”
Luntz referenced a story about the United Auto Workers union, or UAW.
“Why is Donald Trump publicly saying he wants to fire the same people he’s hiring now and still hiring union members?” the polling guru asked.
“It’s ridiculous. It’s like I’ve lost control.”