Former President Donald Trump is now “more likely to beat Biden,” a prominent pollster predicted following a bombshell Colorado Supreme Court ruling to remove Trump, the Republican frontrunner, from the state’s primary election ballot.
High-profile pollster and political consultant Frank Luntz told CNN Tuesday that the court’s 4-3 decision will have “the same impact as his 91 indictments,” which saw Trump’s poll numbers leap ahead.
What will be the impact of the Colorado State Supreme Court's ruling against Trump?
The same impact as his 91 indictments.
I spoke with @PamelaBrownCNN about why Trump is now even more likely to win next November. pic.twitter.com/ENwSaKoFCR
— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) December 20, 2023
“Donald Trump thrives on negativity, he thrives on legal systems that try to hold him accountable, and I’m convinced that his polling numbers are going to go up,” Luntz told host Pamela Brown.
The strategist cited a recent poll that shows the former president winning in seven crucial swing states, arguing that “the more that he is prosecuted, the more that he is condemned, the higher his numbers go as people rally around him.”
“Trump is now even more likely to beat Biden,” Luntz predicted, adding a warning message to the U.S. Justice Department: “You’re actually making it more likely that Donald Trump is elected next November by how you are pursuing this.”
The interview came after the shocking ruling by Colorado’s highest court that bars Trump from the state’s ballot due to a supposed violation of Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment, known as the United States Constitution’s “insurrection clause.”
The Democrat-appointed justices decided that Trump engaged in an insurrection on January 6, 2021, disqualifying him from running for public office. This is the first time in history that the clause has been used to prevent a presidential candidate from being included on a state’s ballot.
Trump has so far been taken off only the primary ballot in Colorado, but the court’s decision sets the precedent for him to be excluded from the general election ballot as well.
However, Trump’s campaign plans to take the issue to the United States Supreme Court, campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement.
The political breakdown of the nation’s highest court is six conservative justices, three of whom were appointed by Trump, and three liberals.
The GOP frontrunner’s son, Eric Trump, also predicted on X that the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision will better his father’s chances in the Republican primary race by at least 5 percentage points.
“Prediction: This Colorado decision will add 5%+ points to [Donald Trump’s] already runaway polls.”
Prediction: This Colorado decision will add 5%+ points to @realDonaldTrump already runaway polls.
— Eric Trump (@EricTrump) December 19, 2023
Luntz also added on X that Trump is a victim of “political persecution,” and argued that his poll numbers “will rise” because of it.
Colorado has just proven Trump's theory true that he's the victim of political persecution
His poll numbers won't drop.
On the contrary, they will rise. 📈 https://t.co/9m0AQNX7Yp— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) December 20, 2023
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