Appearing on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Monday morning, longtime Republican pollster Frank Luntz warned the Republican Party leadership that they need to do something to stop former President Donald Trump from announcing his plan to run again in 2024 if they have any hope of winning both chambers on Congress in November.
Speaking with fill-in host Jonathan Lemire, Luntz also said he had some bad news for the former president based on recent polling and focus groups.
"We are starting to see Trump drop below the critical 50 percent mark in terms of who Republicans want to see as their nominee in 2024, and the constant, consistent rise of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis," he told the MSNBC host.
"What matters is New Hampshire, South Carolina, Iowa for the Republicans," he elaborated. "Ron DeSantis is rising in all the early states significantly, and there is even a survey that now has him ahead of Donald Trump in New Hampshire. Clearly, Republicans still see Trump as their most important political figure. His endorsement still matters as we saw in the Maryland governor's race, but when they're looking forward rather than looking back, more and more Republicans are saying, 'Enough. I don't want to focus on the past, I want to focus on the future. I don't want to focus on Donald Trump and an election that is now two years old."
"This is causing a significant problem for Trump," he continued. "I think it's the reason why he is more likely than not to announce in 2022 rather than wait until 2023."
Before host Lemire cut away to another guest, Luntz insisted on making a "final point."
"If he [Trump] does announce, he could actually cost the Republicans the House as well as the Senate," he bluntly stated. "If the election is about the economy, Republicans win both. If the election is about Donald Trump, Republicans lose both."
MSNBC 07 25 2022 07 26 13youtu.be
