Frank Luntz Argues ‘Surprise’ Nikki Haley Appearance With Trump Will Help Him Win Swing Voters: ‘They Will Listen to Her’

Communications strategist Frank Luntz argued that a joint campaign appearance between former Ambassador Nikki Haley and former President Donald Trump would help the latter win swing voters on Tuesday, submitting that the demographic “will listen to her” during a segment on CNN.

“Trump has said that Nikki Haley, once his nemesis in the primaries, could join him on the trail. She’s done a robocall for him. She’s recorded robocalls on his behalf,” observed anchor Brianna Keilar before asking, “But if he — if the Trump campaign deploys her, what kind of voters could that help with? And where do you think that they’ll use her?”

“It will help with younger women because Trump is doing so well among older men. It’ll help in these swing states. And Nikki Haley brings interest, brings attention among independents, among swing voters. There aren’t many left, but what is left, they will listen to her,” answered Luntz. “And it will be a surprise because she has been so challenging of him, so negative towards him up to now. It’s a very smart strategy.”

“But in the end,” he concluded, “it’s not going to be the surrogates. It’s going to be what they [the candidates] say and how they say it in the last 48 hours that will determine these final votes. The key for Haley [Harris] is absolutely turnout, 18 to 29 women. The key for Donald Trump is absolutely union votes, young African-American men, and Latinos. It’s too close to call right now. Who does better with those groups is the one who gets elected.”

Haley criticized Trump in harsh terms during the Republican presidential primary and initially declined to endorse him after dropping out of the race. But she later said that her old boss had her “strong endorsement,” arguing that “you don’t have to agree with Trump 100% of the time to vote for him.”

Watch above via CNN.