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Pollster Luntz: ‘Not Impressed’ With Harris Following Interview

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OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.


Renowned pollster Frank Luntz criticized Vice President Kamala Harris last week for making what he saw as significant mistakes during her recent CNN interview, which was highly anticipated as her first major sit-down with a news organization as the official Democratic presidential nominee.

“I was not impressed as an observer and someone who’s expecting more from her with this much time to get prepared,” Luntz told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” program.

“First, and I call it DOD, which is Day One Detail. She gave child tax credits, a housing credit. She should have had something for day one, for the first hour, the first day, the first week, the first month, and the first year,” the pollster said. “It’s the most important thing voters are looking for to see whether you’re serious. She really didn’t itemize much more than her talking points.”

When CNN anchor Dana Bash asked her what she would do on her first day as president, she responded that she would “strengthen the middle class,” but she didn’t provide any further details about how that would look.

“Second, it’s not inflation. It’s affordability. And the fact is, food, fuel, housing and health care has become so much more expensive. She said she understood it, but she didn’t give ideas to address it and to solve it,” the pollster said. “Third, she emphasized repeatedly, ‘My values haven’t changed.’ Because she’s been accused of being a flip-flopper. It’s not values, that’s about her. It’s priorities, because that’s about all of us.”

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“Number four, ‘You deserve.’ She talked once again as though it was still a convention speech. She did not itemize exactly what the people of the United States deserve in terms of their president, in terms of, in her case, her policies,” he said. “Number five, the C word. She talked about consensus and a little bit about common ground. It’s really common sense, because voters are not looking for an ideological president. They’re looking for someone who can get things done — a real record of results.”

“Sixth, in her attack of Trump, she should have said, ‘He promised, he failed, it’s time to give someone a chance to do a better job.’ Compared Trump’s record rather than just shots at him,” he said.

“And number seven,’ how would you feel if your kids spoke to you the way Donald Trump speaks to America?’ It’s a simple rhetorical question. It’s her strongest criticism of Trump, I didn’t hear that,” he added.

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In a Friday interview with 6ABC Philadelphia’s Action News, Harris’ performance wasn’t much better. Anchor Brian Taff asked her about her plans to improve affordability for Americans, but her response veered off into a lengthy reflection on her middle-class upbringing and the significance of well-maintained lawns.

“I’ll start with this. I grew up a middle-class kid. My mother raised my sister and me. She worked very hard, she was able to finally save up enough money to buy our first house when I was a teenager. I grew up in a community of hardworking people, you know, construction workers and nurses and teachers,” Harris told the interviewer.

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“I tried to explain to some people who may not have had the same experience, you know, a lot of people will relate to this. You know, I grew up in a neighborhood of folks who were very proud of their lawn, you know. And I was raised to believe and to know that all people deserve dignity. And that we as Americans have a beautiful character,” she rambled.

Eventually, Harris touched on the idea of an “opportunity economy” during the interview, suggesting it as a means to support small business startups. However, she did not provide details on the mechanisms or strategies for implementing that policy.

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