Frank Luntz and his 25-person focus group did their thing following Thursday night’s #GOPDebate in Detroit, asking and answering a series of rapid-fire questions about what they’d just seen on stage at the Fox Theater. According to Luntz, the first word that came to most viewers’ minds to describe the debate was “embarrassing,” and that probably doesn’t even take into account the “dapping” in the audience.
The number one word my focus group used to describe tonight's debate: “Embarrassing.”#GOPDebate
— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) March 4, 2016
The focus group could have come to that conclusion within the first seven minutes, but that impression stuck.
22 out of my 25 focus group members said tonight’s #GOPDebate will hurt Republicans in the general election.
This has to stop. Seriously.
— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) March 4, 2016
@FrankLuntz @tedcruz is the only one talking policy!!!! He is NOT name calling and staying out of it! Rubio and Trump are embarrassing
— IowaCruzGirl (@iowacruzgirl) March 4, 2016
@FrankLuntz @Phil_Radford
call me a prude but reference to his private parts was too much for me. Dumbfounded. Totally. No boundaries.— Bren Buras-Elsen (@brenisphere) March 4, 2016
@FrankLuntz It is embarrassing. It's beyond humiliating. This behavior. This is NOT my country. Ugh. #GOPDebate
— Kristine ❀♡❀♡ (@KristineAz) March 4, 2016
@FrankLuntz @DanielBowenUSA Sure they aren't talking about this audience?
— J. Shaka (@jjshaka) March 4, 2016
@FrankLuntz The democrats must be loving this debate. I'm embarrassed that my party has fallen to this level.
— R. Kimmins (@NCBiologist) March 4, 2016
@FrankLuntz @Ricky_Vaughn99 What did you expect when M. Kelly & C. Wallace were either lecturing, litigating, interrogating or instigating
— patechinois (@patechinois1) March 4, 2016
@FrankLuntz @LibertyOTRocks for once I agree with a Frank Luntz focus group
— Bryan Watts (@BryanWatts) March 4, 2016
Trump’s behavior isn’t likely to stop, seeing as his poll numbers are in a holding pattern well above his competitors’. Marco Rubio has taken a much more aggressive approach to Trump recently, but according to Luntz, it’s backfiring.
Not good – Rubio's attacks on Trump are bombing.
The worst dial scores of any #GOPDebate so far.
— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) March 4, 2016
…And Trump's calling Rubio "this little guy" dialed just as bad.
WTF are they doing? Do they know how much viewers HATE this? #GOPDebate
— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) March 4, 2016
They do like this.
.@TedCruz just had the best answer of the #GOPdebate: “The great city of Detroit was destroyed by liberal policies.”
Hit 96% with my group.
— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) March 4, 2016
Gov. John Kasich was frozen out of a lot of the chaos as Rubio and Ted Cruz tag-teamed Trump, but he might want to take a look at these results.
.@JohnKasich's ISIS response "cool, calm, deliberate, effective… take care of the job and come home" hit 89%.
He's winning this #GOPdebate.
— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) March 4, 2016
The longer this goes, the higher Kasich climbs and the lower Rubio sinks with my focus group. ? ?#GOPDebate
— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) March 4, 2016
My 25-person focus group’s picks for winner tonight:
• @JohnKasich: 18
• @TedCruz: 6
• @realDonaldTrump: 1
• @MarcoRubio: 0#GOPDebate— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) March 4, 2016
So, it’s President Kasich then? For what it’s worth, Kasich told Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly after the debate that he has no interest in being vice president, which many assume is the only reason he’s hung on this long.
