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When our great producers asked me who would you like to talk with on the last show of the year, We didn't have to think very hard about it, I said Frank. Frank Luntz, founder CEO fil Ink, political strategist. I'm supposed to say celebrity polster too, right, Frank. It's great to see you. I hope the holiday season is going well for you. Happy New Year in advance. With everything that I just said, is our nation more or less divided now than it was at the beginning of the year.
Well, here's what's interesting. And you and I spend an afternoon in the freezing cold of Des Moines, Iowa. Your set was only one block from my hotel, and I almost didn't make it. And now we end the year so still so angry, with half of America in disbelief and the other half celebrating looking ahead to twenty twenty twenty five as being the best year ever. Are we divided?
Yes?
Polarized? Yes? Is their pressure to bring us together? Not really? Now that said, let me give you three findings over the last few days. Number one is that Donald Trump's popularities, favorability is higher now than it was when he became president back in twenty seventeen. Number two, there are groups within the electorate, particularly Latinos, younger men, Union members, who are considering voting Republican more so now than they ever
have in modern times. And number three, the Democrats are divided as to what to do, how to move forward, and the only advice I can give them as we end this year is this idea being the resistance is not what America wants. Even those that did not vote for Donald Trump don't want resistance. What they want is an alternative vision, an alternative approach, And everyone across America watching right now results results that they can count on,
results that are both meaningful and measurable. That's what the American people are asking for.
Well, so then would it be a misstep for Democrats to not help elect a Speaker of the House on Friday, knowing that Mike Johnson has four votes to play with Frank Well.
Hakeem Jefferies is one of the best communicators in America today, and he has the ability to reach across the aisle. Whether he chooses to probably the answers probably no, because he has a different point of view than the Republicans, and it's not the job of the Democrats to help
the Republicans. That said, it would be a shock and two tens of millions of Americans a disappointment if the Republican Party, after waiting this long to have a president, a Senate, and a House, end up tearing themselves apart. The American people want you to stand up for your convictions. They don't want you to give up on your beliefs. But they even more so want to get things done
on immigration. They want to solve the border on prices, they want to do policies that effect affordability, and they're just tired of this yelling and screaming in Washington, d C. That's the message that they need to take home this New Year's even.
Well, so, are we going to find a Republican conference that is united on Friday? Where of course, that's the intrigue right now is whether we're going to have multiple rounds. Maybe Mike Johnson can't survive the Tom Massey's or Chiff Roy's of the world depending on how they end up voting, or is there some real discord inside this Republican Party despite the mandate that Donald Trump talks about.
There is discord and when you when your majorities are barely over a minority, you have nothing, You have no gift. And the fact is that the public does support most of the Republican positions. But mark my words, you can play this tape again thirty first, twenty twenty five. If they do not solve the border issue, if they do not bring down and permanently address affordability, and if they continue to fight among each other rather than get stuff done,
the public will punish them on the reverse. On the contrary, if they do solve these challenges, you can see a Republican majority for years to come.
Producers are pulling that cut right now, Frank, to play back a year from now, when you consider what we're left with here at the end of this year, I can't talk to Frank Lunz without getting philosophical. I just walked through a couple of pretty wild stages that we all experienced in the world of politics this year. They included two attempted assassinations, of course, a lot of arguing, Frank, and a lot of uncertainty as we went into this election.
What is the electorate left with? How do we feel? Where are the bruises and the wounds that could be exposed in the new year.
We have a Okay, I'm going to just make everything worse. So if you want to be excited and optimistic, you need to. I don't want to tell them when to turn off their TV or their radio, but this is not going to go well for you. We have a lower degree of trust and confidence in our institutions than at any time in forty years. We do not believe we're being told the truth by the media, by journalists,
by the politicians, and the various elites in America. And finally, we are the belief that the country is seriously off on the wrong track, although those numbers have begun to change in the last two months. If you I've been doing this now for over thirty five years and have not seen a time of more anger and division. But
what concerns me the most is two data points. A third of America don't believe that they are invested in the future of the country, and two thirds of America believe that their country is not invested in their own future. That is horrific. We need to address that, not just for right now, but for the long term, because in the end. Our economic success depends on it. Our political
our democratic institutions depend on trust and confidence. We have to get to the truth, and we have to do so now because we've done so much damage to our politics and to our faith and confidence in the future. It's time to turn that around.
Well, let's talk about who's invested in America, because, as we've discussed, Frank, you spend a lot of time at West Point, and you've conducted some fascinating conversations with the cadets. They are focus groups that we can learn a lot from. You just had one recently that I had a chance to watch, and it was inspiring, and you asked the cadets in the room, tell me what you love about America. Here's a sample of what Frank her.
Tell me what you love about this country.
The values that we are a country build on values. We all hear officers and the cadets where knows of the Constitution that not to a president, not to a leader, and that the standard in America, because we're based on values, is set so high that we're striving towards more perfection.
So you just mentioned the Constitution. This is the single greatest misconception I think Americans have is that they don't realize that that's where your oath is. What does the Constitution mean to you?
America? The Constitution means America because the Constitution is the very soul of America. That's what it is. When the Constitution and its ideas were first written over two hundred years ago, it was an experiment, it was an idea. They didn't know it was going to work, just like with the revolution. They had no idea if it was going to work or not. But they had the dream and they had the hope. And for me, that inspires my dreams and my hopes.
Our future leaders. Talking with Frank Lunz at West Point, Frank short of our listeners and viewers all in listen thing in the military on this New Year's Eve? What should they learn from this?
That there was a group of young people and I swaar. I was not going to get emotional because it's the end of the year. I want you to have me back. But they inspire me and they should inspire the country. Service with character and sacrifice, a commitment to the Constitution, not partisanship, not politics, but the most important document in global history. These cadets work harder, train harder, and make
a greater effort for the country. And they do so because they love their country, and they will protect each other and they protect us. And they'll give you one phrase, the Army Navy game. I wasn't too happy about the outcome this year, but this is the only game that is played for the people on the field commit to defend everyone in the stands and everyone watching. The people on the field will give their lives for the people we're watching. That's west point. That is what makes America great.
And thank God and God bless these cadets because they were.
The last that you can bring this to us, Frank, they are indeed, and this is why we wanted to talk with Frank Luntz on our final show of twenty twenty four. Founder CEO fi L Frank, Happy New Year. It's great to spend some time with you. As always,