Top pollster escapes ‘ugliness of US politics’ to meet Abu Dhabi students
▶ Frank Luntz identified a class of voter fed up with politicians but now finds the new contentious politics to be depressing, writes John Dennehy
In a classroom on Saadiyat Island, students from the UAE, China, America, Vietnam, India and elsewhere are talking, debating and learning. But this is no ordinary class and Frank Luntz is no ordinary teacher.
The renowned American pollster was in the capital this week to teach a class on the language of business over a whirlwind visit to Abu Dhabi.
The National yesterday joined Mr Luntz as he gave a masterclass in communications to 12 enthusiastic NYUAD students.
He showed video clips of American television news coverage about president Donald Trump, illustrating how polarised things have become.
Lines on the screen track the reaction of conservative voters and when news anchors bash Mr Trump, the red lines dive and they switch off. It shows they dislike the questions and therefore will reject the answers. It’s about how you ask the questions, he says.
“About 40 per cent of Americans no longer trust the media,” he says.
Mr Luntz is regarded as an American guru of political science, a master of the message and a firm proponent of the power of words, known in the US for his political focus groups.
And while he is a Republican, he has not been immune to Mr Trump’s Twitter rages. When one of his early focus groups reacted negatively to Mr Trump’s candidacy, the tycoon publicly called him out on the social media site as a “total loser”.
While Mr Luntz accepts even he did not think Mr Trump would win at the start of the presidential race, that changed swiftly when he saw what was happening in his focus groups.
“Americans felt ignored, mistreated – even betrayed. And a large segment, about half – wanted to be heard again. That’s what he offered,” says Mr Luntz.
“He insulted his opponents in a very graphic way and instead of audiences being offended – they cheered. And they rewarded behaviour that would have been unacceptable in any election up to then.”
He attributes Mr Trump’s victory to everything from the economy to poor politics to the media. But the failure of reporters to notice Mr Trump’s rising appeal was significant, he says.
“The only reporters who caught on were the reporters who got off the planes, went to the car and drove an hour or further from the nearest international airport. Once you got an hour away … you entered Trump country no matter where you were.
“Nobody went to those places. Nobody interviewed those voters apart from my focus groups. So no one knew.”
Another crucial factor was Mr Trump’s communication tool of choice: Twitter.
“More people learned what he had to say from his Twitter account than the New York Times.
That’s never happened. If Twitter did not exist, I’d question whether Trump would have won,” says Mr Luntz.
Turning to the broader political climate in America, Mr Luntz describes the atmosphere as one of bitterness and said one of the reasons he is in Abu Dhabi is to get away from that. He refers to NYUAD as a type of “United Nations that works”.
“The hate, the ugliness of American politics is like a third-degree sunburn and NYUAD is the balm.
“Here’s the coolest thing – which is the opposite of American politics – the [students] drop their assumptions within the first 48 hours of arriving.”
Last October, NYUAD welcomed 361 into its class of 2021 – representing 88 nationalities and speaking about 71 languages. Looking around the classroom, it’s hard not to agree with Mr Luntz.
The students are engaged, intellectually curious and eager to learn. All praise the multiculturalism and enormous opportunities offered by studying in Abu Dhabi.
One of those at the class is Brian Greco, 21, from New York, studying globalisation.
“Having come from the States to a part of the world a lot of people ignore or don’t understand, what’s so remarkable to me about this university and country is that it’s literally the most respectful society I’ve ever spent time in. I think the school is an embodiment of that.”
Duc Le was another student attending Mr Luntz’s class and he comes from Vietnam.
“Frank has created a very helpful environment where we are encouraged to say what we think and to listen to the other side even if we don’t agree with it,” says the economics and finance student.
“The first thing I do is to have the student from Vietnam answer a question about China,” Mr Luntz interjects with a chuckle. “And then our Chinese student has an interesting response. That’s what I’ve tried to do through the whole class.”
Mohamed is from Abu Dhabi and NYUAD offers him a chance to understand people from other backgrounds.
“I was always surrounded by people of different backgrounds and up until this point at NYUAD I did not have the chance to engage or understand how the other side also feels,” says the social research and public policy student.
Earlier in the week, Mr Luntz had dinner with seven of the students in the city, organised by Tanya, who is from India and studying economics.
“What people shared with me about the dinner was that it sort of made the students step outside their comfort zone because we talked about politics and whether the good times were behind or ahead of us,” she says. “Everybody had a different take. We thought good times are ahead but it depends on what we do and how we make them.”
Mr Luntz’s last day at NYUAD was yesterday. When asked for his prediction about whether another Mr Trump is on the cards, he replies he does not know any more.
“Contentious politics are here to stay. It’s very depressing. We no longer listen to each other. We no longer know how to talk to each other. We are dismissive and rude,” he says.
“Who knows what life will be like even a year from now. Not to mention three years.”
Here’s the coolest thing – which is the opposite of American politics – the [NYUAD students] drop their assumptions within the first 48 hours of arriving FRANK LUNTZ American pollster