Pollster Frank Luntz says Kamala Harris will lose debate based on disappointing performance in CNN interview

Polling expert Frank Luntz heavily criticized the performance from Kamala Harris on Thursday in the Democratic candidate's first sit-down interview.

He made the comments while appearing Friday on "Squawk Box" on CNBC. After offering numerous examples of Harris' failures, Luntz concluded that Harris would lose a debate with former Donald Trump based on her interview performance.

'I was not impressed.'

"What's gonna happen in this debate is that they're gonna see them side by side. And based on last night's performance, Harris is gonna come up wanting," said Luntz.

"In the end, the voters are comparing them. It is not a race in a vacuum," he continued. "And she did not do what she needed to do to put those concerns to rest, in fact, by focusing on her values rather than our priorities; that's a pretty big communication mistake."

Luntz graded the performance a C and said Harris is going to need to do far better in the debate if she wants to compete in the election.

"I was surprised," he said. "I was not impressed as an observer and someone who was expecting more from her with this much time to get prepared."

Luntz went on to say she seemed unprepared for the question about what she would do in office and went on to criticize her on seven other points.

"She talked as though it was a convention speech; she did not itemize exactly what the people of the United States deserve in terms of their president, in terms of her policies," he said.

Luntz also criticized Harris for her answer about how she felt when President Joe Biden called her to say he was dropping out and endorsing her for president.

"She needs to be authentic; she needs to be honest," Luntz said. "She's had an issue with authenticity going [back] to the 2018 campaign."

On Walz's response to the charges that he lied about his military service, Luntz also gave him very poor marks for deflecting and not really offering an apology.

The entire segment with Luntz can be watched on CNBC's YouTube channel.

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