Pollster says don't underestimate Trump's potential to swing midterms for Republicans

Pollster Frank Luntz appearing on CNN.

Longtime pollster Frank Lutz said Democrats and pundits shouldn't underestimate the power of President Donald Trump as the midterm elections approach, and suggested Trump could swing the races in a way that would allow Republicans to hold on to both the House and Senate.

While many polls and projections look grim for Republicans about five weeks out from Election Day, Luntz acknowledged the historical disadvantage Republicans face as well as how much public polling favors Democrats, but said the X-factor could be Trump, particularly due to his influence within his own party. 

"He has proven how powerful he is. Make no mistake," Luntz said during an interview on CNN Monday, "to every viewer watching, Donald Trump does have more influence on more races than any other Republican -- even [more] than Ronald Reagan."

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump listed several of the accomplishments of his administration during his second term. 

"We're running against people that are going to open up the border," Trump said, pointing to the fact that there haven't been any illegal border crossings for "17 months in a row" since his second term began. "We have no people coming in. Zero. Which is hard to believe even, but that's what it is."

"We have $21 trillion being invested in our country," Trump continued. "We have the highest number of jobs in the history of the United States of America. The murders are lower than at any time since 1900. So we have the best crime numbers."

Trump contrasted his administration with the modern Democrat party, saying, "We're running against communists, lunatics, socialists." He also warned that the polls have shown him losing in the past, only to be wrong come Election Day. "The polls are fake," Trump said. "You'll see it."

In the end, it could all come down to the force of Trump who has unprecedented power to influence Republican voter turnout. "I've never seen a Republican as engaged and involved as this guy, and it matters," Luntz said. 

Watch a clip of the interview with Luntz below.