He’s a veteran Republican strategist whose messaging skills have been recognised by everyone from Barack Obama to David Cameron.
But after more than 30 years helping political leaders across the Atlantic hone their brand, Frank Luntz says the “toxicity” of US politics has left him wanting to use his powers for good.
He has used a recent stay in the UK to meet with Britain’s most senior politicians, including his old university friend Boris Johnson, and warn them: “Don’t make the mistakes that we did in America”.
The 59-year-old travelled to Britain to recuperate from a stroke he suffered in early 2020, which he is convinced was caused by the political acrimony within America.
While in the UK he conducted focus groups for the centre-right think tank Centre for Policy Studies.
His research on both sides of the Atlantic suggested alarming parallels between the polarisation of voters in America and Britain.
“The only thing that we agree on is that politicians suck,” he said as he shared his findings in his plush apartment in downtown Washington.
In the UK, “you still value public debate. Your democracy is still functioning. Ours has seized up… but [I] want to make people aware so they don’t make the mistakes that we did in America,” he said.
He has distilled US voters’ attitudes – and his solutions for politicians – into what he called the “Great Rethink”.
Underscoring the state of the challenge, he said, was his polling of US voters’ feelings about their political leaders. Some 34 per cent described themselves as “disappointed” or “ignored” while just 16 per cent felt “hopeful”.
Mr Luntz sees reasons for optimism among Britain’s current and former leaders, many of whom he met with recently to discuss his findings.
Sir Tony Blair “gets it more than anyone”; Sir John Major is the “most sensible person in the UK” and David Cameron is “still the best communicator that I’ve ever worked with”.
Of his old Oxford peer, he said: “Boris is the most fun. When I saw him, he spent 10 minutes just ripping me before I even got to the stuff I wanted to show.”
What does America’s top pollster predict for Mr Johnson’s future? “If the (Sue Gray) investigation shows that he knew what he was doing, and it shows a willful disregard of the rules… You’ll have a problem,” he said. “But until that happens, he’ll be given a pass.”
Mr Luntz is less optimistic about the political fortunes of Mr Johnson’s American counterpart. “Joe Biden does not understand the hopes and dreams of the average American, he does not empathise with them,” he said, pointing to the soaring cost of living for Americans.
“This is the issue that’s going to kill the Democrats” in November’s Congressional elections, he predicted, “because it affects every single voter in every possible way.”
Regarded as America’s top pollster, Mr Luntz predicts the Democrats will lose their majority in the House of Representatives but narrowly hold the Senate.
Such an outcome will only increase Washngton’s dysfunction, he said.
Mr Luntz – who is perhaps best known for coining the term “climate change” for Republicans to use instead of “global warming” – says he takes his share of the blame.
“But I figured it out. And I’m asking you guys to figure it out now too,” he added.
“This is s—. This is a disaster. And it will come if you let it happen,” he said. “This is my warning to you”.
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