Luntz explained on CNBC’s Squawk Box Wednesday morning that Harris draws on the support of undecided voters, who have largely ‘collapsed’ in her favor.
‘The entire electoral pool has changed,’ Luntz told hosts Andrew Ross Sorkin and Melissa Lee.
The pollster blamed the shift on Trump’s campaign choices, declaring that the former president was slipping.
‘It’s as though he’s lost control,’ Luntz fumed. ‘And I know that there are billionaires who watch this show who are spending a lot of money on Donald Trump, and they don’t understand why he’s committing political suicide.’
GOP polling expert 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 choices, declaring that the former president was slipping
Toward the beginning of the interview, Ross Sorkin observed that ‘polls in the presidential race showing Vice President Harris gaining ground in some swing states and even eroding some of the former President Trump’s lead in Florida.’
He continued: ‘Our next guest says if the election were held today, she would win.’
Ross Sorkin, visibly amazed, quipped: ‘That’s a turn.’
‘It’s more than that,’ Luntz answered.
‘That’s a plot twist,’ Ross Sorkin joked.
‘She’s bringing out people who are not interested in voting for either Trump or Biden. So the entire electoral pool has changed,’ the veteran pollster said.
Luntz went on to explain how if things remained this way, the Democrats could win more than the White House. They could also take the Senate and the House.
Veteran GOP pollster Frank Luntz declared that Trump was ‘committing political suicide’
Luntz said that undecided voters were ‘collapsing’ in favor of Harris
‘She’s got intensity now,’ the polling guru said of Harris. ‘She’s got an intensity advantage. She’s got a demographic advantage.’
At this point, host Melissa Lee interjected and asked how he expected this advantage to translate into votes.
‘How big is that? That marginal extra voter that she’s bringing in? I mean, how much does that change the pool?’
‘One percent. Maybe two,’ Luntz answered. ‘But that’s enough.’
Then Ross Sorkin balked and questioned the GOP strategist about the accuracy of his polling information.
Luntz said that 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 polling showed this back in 2016 undercounted, you know, even in 2020- undercounted,’ Ross Sorkin said.
He continued: ‘And so you start to think about the margin of error or situation where maybe she’s up one or two percent. But is the Trump vote fully counted?’
Luntz addressed Sorkin’s concern by saying that his process is not ‘just to do the numbers.’
‘It’s also to do the focus groups to listen, to understand why people feel this way.’
Then the seasoned pollster revealed that his focus groups are repeatedly ‘broken up by young women saying, “I’m not voting for him anymore.”‘
While Harris continues to gain momentum, Trump continues to make poor strategic decisions, according to Luntz
He attributed this phenomenon to a ‘broad shift’ in voting blocs.
‘The people who are undecided have all collapsed towards Harris. The people who are weak [about] Trump have all collapsed towards undecided,’ Luntz explained.
He 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 to 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 favored Donald Trump,’ the pollster said. ‘He should be winning the election. But…he’s not.’
Luntz referenced a story about the United Auto Workers union, or the UAW.
‘Why is Donald Trump saying publicly [he wants] to fire the same people that he’s getting now, still getting union members?’ the polling guru asked.
‘It’s ridiculous. It’s as though he’s lost control.’
