Veteran pollster Frank Luntz dismissed CNN’s latest anti-Trump narrative, arguing that Democrats’ focus on fired federal workers is failing to connect with voters. During President Donald Trump’s address to Congress on Tuesday, several Democratic lawmakers invited terminated federal employees as their guests. The move was part of a broader Democratic effort to highlight job losses and budget cuts under the administration and express solidarity with affected workers.
During an appearance on CNN, Frank Luntz was asked whether Democrats’ strategy—focusing on federal employees, particularly veterans, who lost their jobs under Trump—was an effective political move. His response was a resounding no. “No, it’s not going to work for them because people see through it,” Luntz said. “They see the politicization of it.”
Luntz likened the strategy to past Democratic missteps, such as their failed attempts to blame Republicans for corporate scandals like Enron. He argued that voters can easily recognize when a party is pushing a political narrative rather than offering genuine policy solutions. “If you look like you’re doing it for political reasons, they will reject you. If you look like you’re doing it for the genuine health and safety and well-being of the American people, they will embrace you,” he explained.
Luntz argued that Democrats are harming themselves by misfocusing on the issue. “They’re causing their party to focus on the wrong issues, in the wrong language, in the wrong way,” he said. With millions of federal workers recently ordered back to the office after years of COVID-era remote work, Democrats are trying to frame the layoffs of certain employees—particularly veterans—as a major political issue. However, as Frank Luntz made clear, voters aren’t buying the narrative.
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Democrats argue that these cuts will weaken essential services, while the Trump administration insists they are necessary to eliminate waste and restore accountability in Washington. At HUD alone, layoffs could affect up to 50% of its workforce. However, Republicans and fiscal conservatives argue that these reductions are long overdue, contending that many federal agencies have been bloated for years and require significant restructuring.