'Worst I've ever seen': Data expert's mind boggles at Trump's 'laughably bad' numbers
President Donald Trump’s approval numbers are “laughably bad” heading into the midterms, according to CNN's Harry Enten, who says no president in modern history has been in a worse position this close to Election Day.
The data analyst pointed to new Pew Research Center polling showing Trump’s net approval rating 38 points underwater, and he expressed astonishment.
“No president I’ve ever seen is in a worse position before a midterm election than President Trump,” Enten said. “You go all the way back. You go back to Harry S. Truman, FDR. At this point before a midterm, ever, ever, ever ... the worst I’ve ever seen is Donald John Trump, 38 points underwater.”
“It’s laughable,” he added.
Enten stressed that Pew isn’t an outlier, showing that Trump is 33 points underwater in a Reuters/Ipsos poll and was 34 points underwater in another Ipsos survey last month. A CNN poll has him 34 points underwater, and an Associated Press poll matches Pew’s 38-point deficit.
“No other president before a midterm election was even at minus-31,” Enten said. “We are looking at history in the making here for the unpopularity of President Trump.”
He said that should alarm Republicans on the ballot.
“It’s historic headwinds in which you are essentially going, oh my God, how am I supposed to win with numbers from a president this bad?” Enten said.
According to Enten, the biggest problem for Trump is independents. Pew’s validated voter research found independents split evenly between Trump and Kamala Harris in 2024. Now Trump is 57 points underwater with them.
“You just never see numbers” like that, Enten said. “I struggle to come up with the adjectives because you run out of them.”
Enten also mocked Trump’s call for supporters to “vote like I’m on the ballot.”
“Democrats, please, pretty, pretty, please, with a cherry on top, they are saying, yes, vote as if President Trump is on the ballot,” he said. “Because if he is on the ballot, you can pretty much guarantee that Democrats will take back the United States House.”
He added that Trump’s unpopularity is also why Democrats’ chances of winning the Senate “have been going up and up and up.”
“This president, as unpopular as he is, is dragging Republicans underwater,” Enten said.
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