Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris is embracing some of the Republican Party’s old standbys as her own to gain an advantage over her Republican rival, former President Donald Trump, pollsters say. Frank Luntz said Tuesday.
Luntz said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that Harris is “taking a page from the Republican playbook.”
The political strategist meant it as a compliment to the vice president.
He praised Harris’ “key language,” noted her focus on small business issues and described herself as a capitalist. He also noted the party’s emphasis on freedom during the Democratic National Convention.
“If you just listen to these general statements, she actually sounds like a moderate Republican,” Luntz said.
“So the challenge for the Trump campaign is to stop these constant character attacks and challenge her on specific issues and her arguments,” he said.
“Because, let me tell you something, New York Times latest pollshe’s starting to get through,” he added.
A Times/Siena College poll released Tuesday shows Harris leading Trump nationally for the first time since President Joe Biden withdrew as the Democratic nominee in mid-July. It turns out.
The poll, conducted from September 29 to Sunday among 3,385 likely voters, shows Harris with a slight lead over Trump, 49% to 46%, with a margin of error of plus or minus. It was within the range of 2.4 percentage points.
The last Times/Siena poll, conducted in mid-September, had the candidates tied at 47 percent.
New polls show Harris gaining support among older voters and Republicans.
And for the first time, more respondents in the Times/Siena poll named Harris over Trump as the candidate who represents change.
Luntz said he’s seen a similar shift toward Harris in focus groups of undecided voters he tracks.
He said those voters had “widely turned away from Joe Biden” before the president withdrew from the race.
But “after the first debate, they’re closing in on Kamala Harris,” Luntz said, referring to the Sept. 10 showdown with President Trump.
“And now they’re asking: Who’s telling me the truth?”
Luntz also weighed in on Harris’ appearance on CBS News.60 minutes‘ aired on Monday nights.
“It took a while,” but Harris said she is now “going through tough interviews” and “being challenged.”
Since taking over the Democratic ticket, Harris has been criticized for avoiding unscripted public appearances and avoiding interviews with major media outlets.
But her “60 Minutes” interview flipped that script, Lantz argued. Trump withdrew He declined to appear on the show and declined to discuss Harris again.
“It’s Donald Trump who is avoiding discussion,” Luntz said. “She deserves credit for that.”
The Trump campaign initially claimed that negotiations with “60 Minutes” failed because the show insisted on fact-checking Trump’s claims live.
The campaign later claimed that Trump deserved an apology from the show’s reporter Leslie Stahl for his handling of his last appearance in 2020, but never received one.
Luntz clarified Harris’ claim on “60 Minutes” that part of her economic plan would be funded by ensuring the wealthiest Americans pay their “fair share of taxes.” I blamed him for not doing so.
