Republican pollster Frank Luntz said former President Trump’s insults against his political opponents are widening the gender gap among voters in the 2024 election.
CNN host Michael Smerconish cited a recent Fox News poll showing a 22-point gender gap, with men favoring President Trump by 12 points and women favoring Vice President Kamala Harris by 10 points.
“Well, the thing is, Kamala Harris reminds men of their first wives and Donald Trump reminds women of their first husbands’ divorce lawyers,” Luntz said during a CNN appearance Saturday. “And that’s actually kind of true. I know it’s funny, but it’s kind of true.”
“And Trump is losing, and he dares to insult this giant gender. This isn’t a gap, this is a chasm,” he said. “And as you said in the beginning, we’ve never seen anything like this before. I actually think there’s going to be a divorce because of the fighting between them.”
Luntz, who criticized Trump’s behavior on the campaign trail earlier this week, said the Republican presidential candidate needed to refrain from hurling insults at his political opponents, focus on the future and leave “anger behind.” The pollster’s advice is similar to what other Republicans have been urging Trump to focus on policy.
“First, don’t insult someone for the way they look or the way they speak,” Luntz says. “Women can’t stand that. Second, women expect you to focus on the future, not anger about the past, which, again, is the exact opposite of what Trump actually does.”
“And the third thing, especially now, I would say we’ve had this rough politics for the last eight years,” he continued. “The economy is in a tough spot. Inflation is obviously making life harder for a lot of people, and you want to lean into that. Acknowledge that and give people solutions. Give them ideas for how to change it.”
The longtime pollster pointed to a campaign rally in North Carolina yesterday, where Harris unveiled her economic plan, and offered her own solution.
“That’s exactly what Harris did yesterday. Some people may not agree with what she said, but at least she’s addressing the issue,” Luntz said.
