There’s one clear loser from this week’s Presidential debate: Frank Luntz. The Republican pollster and messaging consultant was met with backlash after posting his advice to Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
“If she wants to win, Harris needs to train her face not to respond. It feeds into a female stereotype and, more importantly, risks offending undecided voters,” Luntz posted on Tuesday night.
It’s an understatement to say that post wasn’t received well.
At the time of publication, the X post had 9,300 responses compared to its 2,300 reposts and 4,200 likes. For thhose who aren’t too online, that’s considered being ratioed, a term used to describe when negative reactions to a post far surpass positive engagement. Luntz’s critics didn’t shy away from telling him exactly what they thought of his advice, often in colorful terms.
“Hey! This is f–king awful. Hope this helps!” former “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” writer Bess Kalb wrote.
“Eat s–t, Luntz,” Chicago-based writer and contributor to Advocate.com Parker Molloy wrote.
“How many times were you dropped on your head as a child,” acclaimed film and TV critic Matt Stoller Zeitz asked.
Others were a bit kinder with their disapproval. “Man … take a seat somewhere,” chair of the Democratic National Committee Jaime Harrison wrote.
“Just straight sexism. Put your phone away and focus on the undecideds that are going to be saying they’re voting for Kamala Harris,” political strategist Adam Parkhomenko responded.
It wasn’t just people in the bubbles of media and politics who eviscerated Luntz. One user posted the comment was “Just a little misogynistic” with a hand waving emoji. Another asked if Harris’ face offended “white males,” clearly mocking Luntz.
“I feel like you mentioning this as much as you do is more of a reflection on how YOU buy into the female stereotype,” another user wrote.
Still one other user was more blunt. “You train your face to not d bag, and then we can’t talk,” they wrote.
The first debate between Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Harris took place on Tuesday night on ABC. The event was broadcast from Philadelphia and was moderated by ABC News managing editor and “World News Tonight” anchor David Muir as well as ABC News Live “Prime” anchor Linsey Davis.
