Tucker Carlson Attack Sees Pollster Frank Luntz Swamped With 'Angry, Misspelled Messages'

Fox News personality Tucker Carlson took aim at Republican pollster Frank Luntz during his prime time show on Friday with an opening statement that resulted in Luntz receiving "angry" emails.

Carlson told his audience that Luntz, who has long been a consultant and adviser to the Republican Party, should no longer have any role with the GOP because his views don't align with average Republican voters.

"That explains all the angry, misspelled messages in my inbox tonight," Luntz tweeted on Friday, sharing a tweet showing a still from Carlson's show and featuring an image of Luntz.

"Luntz — Dr. Frank I. Luntz, as he's often called, at his request — is the Republican Party's longest-serving message man," Carlson said in his opening commentary.

These remarks were also published as an op-ed on the Fox News website, as is frequently the case for Carlson's monologues.

"Frank Luntz has no business advising the GOP, yet he still does," the article read.

"For decades, Frank Luntz has told elected Republicans what to say and precisely how to say it. Luntz massages language for politicians," Carlson told his audience.

"He does it now. Just this week, the National Republican Congressional Committee, the NRCC, invited Luntz to Florida for its so-called 'policy summit,' where he was asked to weigh in on the 'hot topics.' Luntz's job was to tell Republicans - office holders, people with power - how to think about the most important issues of the day. We didn't hear the presentation, but there's no doubt it was compelling.

"Frank Luntz is a smooth salesman," Carlson went on. "That why he's been around for a while. The problem with Frank Luntz is that his views, his personal views, are very different from those of your average Republican voter."

"Frank Luntz is a conventional liberal. His main clients are left-wing corporations like Google. When Frank Luntz gives advice to congressional Republicans, he's got Google's perspective in mind. That's a huge problem."

Carlson said he had wanted Luntz to appear on the show but the pollster hadn't responded to messages. He went on to say Luntz worked for companies "opposed to the Republican Party" and said he was "particularly close" to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

Luntz often uses focus groups to gauge voters' opinions on key issues but Carlson mocked the concept, calling it "just random people yammering." He went on to criticize Luntz' comments about the public's views on immigration, guns in schools and the phrase "law and order."

Carlson referenced Luntz' work with Purdue Pharma and his former advocacy of OxyContin, one of the drugs involved in the U.S. opioids crisis. In an interview with PBS in 2004, Luntz called it a "miracle drug."

"This is the guy Republican leaders went to just this week for, quote, 'messaging guidance on hot topics.' And you wonder why you no longer recognize the party that you vote for," Carlson concluded.

Newsweek has asked Frank Luntz and Tucker Carlson for comment.