Frank Luntz Asked About His Partisan Past on Fox News: ‘I Don’t Know’ If I Still Consider Myself a Republican
Frank Luntz appeared on Fox News’ MediaBuzz with Howard Kurtz on Sunday, and the longtime GOP pollster said he isn’t sure if he still considers himself a Republican.
On to discuss partisan rancor and public mistrust in media, Luntz was asked by Kurtz about his work with Newt Gingrich in the 1990s, when then-House speaker Gingrich developed what critics would decry as the roadmap to political polarization.
Luntz pushed back on that criticism, pointing out that his work with Gingrich did not overlap with his more distasteful political maneuvers.
“Do you regret any of the tactics of your past, and are you now moving to a different place when you talk about ‘I want to spend 2019 finding common ground’?” Kurtz asked. “That’s not Frank Luntz the partisan warrior.”
“It’s hard to be a partisan warrior when you see the damage that’s done,” Luntz said.
“Do you still consider yourself a Republican?” Kurtz asked.
“I don’t know,” Luntz replied — arguing the policies of Republicans and Democrats in inner cities don’t work. Kurtz asked if his move away from the Republican Party had anything to do with Trump, but Luntz demurred.
“I don’t like the tone and demeanor of either of them,” Luntz said.
“It sounds like you are becoming an independent without using those words,” Kurtz noted.
Watch above, via Fox News.
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