Longtime GOP pollster Frank Luntz has predicted that Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign is effectively over after what he described as nearly the worst debate performance ever observed on Tuesday night.
Luntz, speaking on Piers Morgan Uncensored on Wednesday, characterized the performance as highly negative, pessimistic, cynical, and contemptuous, suggesting it would be detrimental to Trump. He noted that while it was not the worst debate performance he had seen in his career, it was very close.
The pollster asserted that Kamala Harris had outperformed Trump on the debate stage and predicted that the night’s events had caused Trump to lose his chance at the White House entirely. Luntz expressed a decision to go on record, stating that Trump’s loss was attributable to his debate performance.
Trump’s performance a “disaster”
A week before the debate, Luntz had indicated on CNN that the debate was crucial. During Tuesday night’s debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, a handshake and brief exchange of well wishes between the candidates suggested a cordial setting. However, Trump quickly returned to his usual personal and policy attacks, including false claims about Democrats and migrants.
Trump’s performance was deemed a “disaster” by several Republican leaders, and even his ally Robert F. Kennedy Jr. conceded that Harris had “clearly won” the debate. Kennedy told Fox News that Harris excelled in delivery, polish, organization, and preparation.
A CNN flash poll showed that 63 percent of registered voters who watched the ABC News debate believed Harris won. Current national polls average shows Harris leading Trump by 2.8 points.
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Trump made bizarre claims and missed opportunities
Despite this, Trump claimed he had a “GREAT DEBATE” in a Truth Social post early Thursday morning. Luntz, on Piers Morgan Uncensored, highlighted Trump’s errors, including bizarre claims and missed opportunities to address key issues like inflation and affordability, and his inability to present his views without attacking others.
Luntz and Trump have been at odds since July 2015 when Luntz interviewed Trump and criticized his comments about Mexicans. Their feud persisted after Trump’s 2016 election win, which Luntz admitted had surprised him. Although Luntz praised Trump’s 2018 State of the Union address and later apologized to him, he later claimed in his book *The Big Break* that a minor stroke in January 2020 was related to his lack of outspoken criticism of Trump.
Luntz accurately predicted Trump’s lead on election night in 2020 but foresaw Biden catching up and eventually winning. In June, Luntz had suggested that Trump’s re-election was almost certain unless a dramatic change occurred. However, after Harris announced her presidential campaign on July 21, Luntz believed the race had become more even and now predicts that the debate secured a win for Harris.
An intense 90-minute debate
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris faced each other for the first time on the presidential debate stage in Philadelphia on Tuesday night. While they may have exchanged handshakes, they did not establish a rapport.
Throughout the intense 90-minute debate, Harris frequently unsettled Trump with personal attacks that disrupted his message and heightened the stakes of the highly-anticipated event. She targeted his rally sizes, his actions during the Capitol riot, and the critics from his administration, leaving Trump often on the defensive.
Much of the debate involved Harris provoking Trump into lengthy defenses of his past behavior and remarks. He responded willingly, at times raising his voice and shaking his head.
Millions of television viewers
During an early question about immigration, Harris suggested that attending a Trump rally was enlightening, noting that people often left early due to exhaustion and boredom. This remark clearly unsettled Trump, who then spent most of his response—on a topic he should have excelled at—defending his rally sizes and belittling hers.
Trump proceeded to discuss a discredited report about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, allegedly abducting and consuming their neighbors’ pets.
According to Nielsen data released on Wednesday, the U.S. presidential debate between Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican candidate Donald Trump drew 67.1 million television viewers. This debate, which took place on Tuesday night, marked the first face-to-face encounter between the candidates for the Nov. 5 presidential election. The viewership surpassed the approximately 51 million who watched Trump debate then-candidate President Joe Biden in June.
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