Pollster Reveals Questions That Could Bite Harris During Debate

On Monday, pollster Frank Luntz commented that former President Donald Trump has the potential to raise questions Vice President Kamala Harris may struggle to answer during their upcoming presidential debate.

Trump and Harris are set to debate on Sept. 10 on ABC News. During “CNN News Central,” Luntz recommended that Trump challenge Harris on topics such as inflation, policy, and the differences between life under his administration versus hers and President Joe Biden’s.

“If I was advising the campaign right now, which I do not, I’d say to him that silence in some cases is the best language … because he has questions that he can ask that she can’t answer,” Luntz said. “Why did inflation get so high under your administration? What exactly are you going to do if your policies caused it? What can you do to solve it? And most importantly, are you better off today than you were four years ago? It’s not my question. That was Ronald Reagan’s question. If he asked that question plainly, he will be successful. I don’t believe he has the ability to do so.”

The pollster previously mentioned in the discussion that Trump may have hurt his chances against Biden in the 2020 presidential debate by not giving him the opportunity to speak.

Frank Luntz Says Trump 'Has Questions That He Can Ask' That Harris 'Can't Answer' During Debate pic.twitter.com/Y7rFWxabbv

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 2, 2024

“Trump has to prove that he doesn’t treat her rudely, obnoxiously, because he lost a lot of female voters in 2020 who would have voted for him over policy but would not vote for him because of his persona,” Luntz said.

On Thursday, Harris sat down for her first interview with CNN’s Dana Bash since beginning her 2024 presidential campaign on July 21. Luntz expressed on Friday that he “was not impressed” with Harris during the interview, emphasizing that she will need to perform “better” in her debate against Trump.

“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,” Luntz said on Friday. “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.”

Trump faced off against Biden in a debate on June 27, and the president’s poor showing led to prominent voices urging him to end his reelection bid, which he ultimately did less than a month later.