"Frank Luntz: 'Harris Reminds Some Men of Their First Wife; Trump Reminds Women of Their First Husband's Divorce Lawyer'"
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00and we're seeing a surge in enthusiasm for the Kamala Harris campaign. In new polling from
00:06YouGov and The Economist, 53% of Harris supporters say they are extremely enthusiastic to vote this
00:13November, compared to 48% for Donald Trump supporters. In a poll conducted last month,
00:19before President Joe Biden's withdrawal from the 2024 race, just 37% of his supporters said they
00:26were extremely enthusiastic to vote, while 51% of Trump supporters said the same.
00:32Joining us now, longtime pollster and political strategist Frank Luntz. So Frank, tell us about
00:38this new focus group that you led with voters who did not support Biden's campaign a few weeks ago,
00:44but now they say they support the candidacy of Kamala Harris. What happened? What'd they say?
00:51They are tired of Trump's abuse and of Trump's personality. They still question whether Harris
00:59is mainstream or extreme. They are eager to return to a normalcy in the country,
01:06and most importantly, their issue agenda, inflation, immigration, is America's agenda.
01:13But they are younger than the average voter, they are more female than the average voter,
01:17and in fact, what is unique about them is you can see how many young women are participating now.
01:24They're the ones that switch. They're the ones that went either from undecided or supporting
01:28Kennedy, and you've noticed that Kennedy's numbers have completely imploded. They either
01:33supported Kennedy, Trump, or undecided, and they are so excited about this younger, fresher woman
01:40running that you can see it and feel it in their intensity, in their passion, and in their desire
01:47for change. So let's listen to some of the answers to the first question that you asked
01:53the focus group about why they are now supporting Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign.
02:01What has Vice President Harris said or done that have turned you into a Harris supporter,
02:08at least at this moment, when you weren't supporting Joe Biden 14 days ago? Eric,
02:14I'm going to start with you. For me, it's more of an issue with Donald Trump and the options
02:22that are now available. Switched over primarily because of the lack of respect coming from
02:26one side of the Republican Party. I do believe that the far right has taken over the Republican Party.
02:32I switched because J.D. Vance scares the heck out of me and that Joe was just a little bit too old
02:42to have some fresh blood and to have some focus and to have somebody who's not a misogynist
02:49has made me happy again. Based on her presence, her intelligence, and even if I don't agree with
02:57all her policies, I trust that she'll have good judgment. I actually was a Trump voter in 16 and 20
03:04and it was despite his personality and a lot of the other extra issues. However,
03:13when he chose J.D. Vance, it kind of pushed me over to having an open mind. I don't want to be
03:21taken over by Christian nationalists with Project 2025. The debate was a disaster
03:28and the RNC looked like a wrestling match and J.D. Vance is probably the most unlikable American
03:38I can possibly think of to run our country. I just feel like we need to take the party back
03:44and it's not going to happen if Trump or another Republican is in office right this second.
03:50Wow, Frank, tell us more. I mean, it seems like J.D. Vance played a big role in the changes and
03:58shifting attitudes in this campaign. Well, what's happening right now is that initially when Joe
04:04Biden was the Democratic nominee, Trump was playing on his turf, reaching out to his voters,
04:10and that's why you saw two, three, maybe even a four-point advantage for Trump.
04:14These were people who were disappointed, disengaged with the Democratic Party.
04:19Now it's exactly the opposite. These are ex-Republicans, ex-conservatives who are looking
04:25at Trump and his personality, the whole Trump-Vance ticket, and they're saying,
04:30this is not what I want. I want to be clear about this. The two issues that matter most
04:36are immigration and inflation. And on those issues, Donald Trump still has the advantage over
04:41Harris. But on these personality traits, Harris has a tremendous advantage over Trump. And there
04:48are people who had voted for Trump in 2020 that will not vote for him again because they're tired
04:53of his rude and abusive behavior. He is literally losing this election, and I'm starting to wonder,
05:00does he want to lose? Is this something that's going on inside his head simply because he doesn't
05:05want to be president for four more years because no sane person would campaign the way Donald
05:10Trump is campaigning? Yeah, he's exhausting a lot of people, perhaps even himself. Frank,
05:15good morning. So you asked the focus group also to describe Vice President Harris in one word.
05:22Here are some of the answers Frank got. Intelligent. Sine. She's ready. Eric. Opponent.
05:33Krista. Relatable. Larry. Energetic. Sylvia. Annoying. Louise. Qualified.
05:44Carrie. Qualified with my word too. Bella. Vibrant. Roberto. Unique. Sheila. Informed.
05:55Kimberly. Grounded. Aaron. I like grounded.
06:03So Frank, positive it sounds like for the most part, talking about Kamala Harris. And again,
06:07I'm sure you picked this up more broadly in your conversation with the focus group,
06:11just a striking distance from where this race was a month ago in the way people were feeling
06:16about a potential Democratic candidate. You can't even compare these responses to what was
06:21happening 30 days ago. And I remind you, this is before the convention. She's getting a convention
06:28bounce before the convention. So one wonders what it's going to be like exactly eight days
06:33from right now. They're not set in stone. I do want to emphasize that this election is still
06:40so close. It's still so inconsistent in who's got the lead. But that said, all the wind is
06:51propelling Harris forward. And in the end, they're giving her a chance not only to be heard,
06:58not only a second look, but they are not considering where she was in 2019 and 2020.
07:04This is a complete reevaluation. And if I'm the Trump campaign right now and I'm watching this,
07:09I am scared as hell because all the negativity, all the hostility right now is directed at him
07:17because he's still doing the same politics of 2016 and 2020. And it's 2024. One last thing.
07:24You can talk about attributes, you can talk about issues, or you can talk about current conditions.
07:29Current conditions are beginning to favor Harris as inflation comes down and the economy appears
07:36to be strong. Issues still favor Donald Trump, but the attributes are overwhelmingly
07:42in Harris's favor. That's why she loves this campaign. And Donald Trump is playing right
07:48into her playbook. So, Frank, the vice president's candidacy is inherently historic. But outside of
07:55Trump's attacks on her race, there's actually been not that much discussion about her race,
08:01the fact that she or that she would be the first female president, certainly nothing like it was
08:05in 2016 during Hillary Clinton's campaign. When you talk to voters in this group or others,
08:11how much are they focused on that? Younger women are absolutely focused on that because they see
08:17someone who looks like them. And I can't emphasize that enough. It's a validation of who they are and
08:23what they want to be. And for Trump to be rude about that or abusive about that is a big mistake.
08:30Harris reminds some men of their first wife. Donald Trump reminds women of their first
08:36husband's divorce lawyer. And he needs to back off and be a lot quieter and a lot calmer.
08:45Wow. OK, veteran pollster and political strategist Frank Luntz, thank you very much.
08:50We really appreciate your coming on this morning. Fascinating. And coming up,
08:55we're taking a look back at some of the most iconic images from.