GOP Pollster Nearly in Tears Over CNN Panel ‘Jumping On Me’
Veteran Republican pollster Frank Luntz was driven nearly to tears Friday night after his CNN co-panelists took issue with how he dismissed the backlash over President Donald Trump’s comments about DEI hiring and the mid-air crash in Washington, D.C.
Appearing on NewsNight With Abby Phillip, Luntz seemed to take things a little too much to heart after the show’s host objected to his argument.
Lutz prefaced his comments by saying, “I think I’m alone in this group; I think I’m kind of afraid to be alone in this group.” Luntz said he’d surveyed many Republican voters and heard repeatedly that MAGA supporters are “really, really tired of being accused of either racism or sexism because they voted for Donald Trump.”
He added, “Americans just want to be Americans. Not hyphenated Americans, female Americans, black Americans, Jewish Americans. They just want to be Americans.”
Host Phillip swiftly shot back, asking how Luntz thought it made minorities feel when they’re told “every time something happens, that because they exist in a particular role, it is their fault?”
Luntz responded, “How does it make people feel when they’re told that they’re a racist?”
“No no no no,” Phillip interrupted. “Answer my question.”
Luntz insisted he was “trying to” before picking up again where he’d left off, at which point former Democratic representative Mondaire Jones weighed in.
Jones said, “No you’re not, your response is in bad faith. What she’s saying is something you’re not responding to because it doesn’t address why Donald Trump immediately went to DEI as an explanation without any evidence whatsoever for what looks to be an inexcusable and certainly very devastating and tragic plane and helicopter crash a couple of days ago.”
He added, “Instead, you pivot to talking about how terrible it is how some people who voted for Donald Trump are being called racist and sexist.”
Luntz held on to the perceived slight throughout the remainder of the discussion, speaking over Phillips, accusing others of interrupting him, and suggesting his co-panelists were “all jumping on me.” He added, “This is why this show is such a challenge for me.”
He later even posted on X about the ordeal, saying he “failed, but at least I tried” to get his point across.
