‘The Public Demands A Detailed Plan’: Frank Luntz Torpedoes Harris’ Rhetoric In MSNBC Interview, Economic Speech

Pollster Frank Luntz on Thursday criticized Vice President Kamala Harris’ rhetoric during her Wednesday interview and economic speech.

Luntz appeared on “Squawk Box,” where co-anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin played a clip of Harris’ interview with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle where she repeatedly asserted that wealthy Americans and corporations need to “pay their fair share” of taxes. Luntz said voters do not want to hear that phase, as they want more specific policies from Harris that she is not delivering.

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“Some of what she has said in the last few weeks are exactly what voters want to hear. That is not. ‘Pay their fair share.’ We’ve heard it now for how many years, 30, maybe 40? What exactly is fair share? … And the issue for that is it’s a sound bite, it’s a slogan. And I know that I’m a messaging person so that’s my job,” the pollster said. “However, the public demands a detailed plan of action and they’re not getting it from her … She’s addressing housing, she’s addressing health care, she’s addressing food and fuel, so she’s doing the policy.”

Luntz then turned his attention to Harris’ economic speech in Pittsburgh, where the vice president pledged to be “pragmatic. ”

“I’ll give you an example, ‘pragmatic’ versus ‘common sense.’ Pragmatic says that she’s going to do what’s smart polling-wise, what’s smart politically,” he said. “What the public is asking for is, ‘If you’re going to raise taxes, tell us where it’s going to come, tell us the impact,’ which is what they’re looking for and in the end, ‘Let us keep just a little bit more of what we make and let us be just a little bit more affordable in how we live.’”

Luntz gave Harris credit for being “focused on the future” and contrasted her approach to former President Donald Trump, who he said is “focused on the past.” But the pollster also noted the vice president “only” referred to “good union jobs” rather than good jobs for all Americans.

“However, she only talks about good union jobs. We’re all hard working taxpayers. We’re all part of this economy,” he said. “And for her, at this close to the election, the focus on the specific group, is not helpful of when the economy affects everyone.”

“I’m a moderator of focused groups so I know messaging when I create it. This is something that was driven by focus groups,” Luntz added. “This did not feel like it was her, herself. It felt like someone like me went through the speech, added a few phrases … If you repeat yourself three times, which is what she did, then you know it’s a line. Then you know it’s not something that she really feels.”

Ruhle reacted to her interview with Harris by defending her for not providing a “clear, direct” answer to her question about tariffs.