Data expert finds Trump moves don't add up to success: 'Failure failure failure'

CNN's Harry Enten found that voters agree that Donald Trump's second presidency has been a "failure" on one of the key issues that got him back into office.

The 79-year-old president was re-elected in 2024 in part due to his promise to bring down consumer prices, but the chief data analyst told "CNN News Central" that a strong majority Americans believe the economy is getting worse and don't believe that Trump is focused on improving conditions for them.

"Here is the realitycheck for everyone, and I wouldjust say this," Enten said. "This is theproblem for the president of the United States. You get electedto fix the economy and the American people, they ain'tbuying it because just take alook here: Say the economy isgetting worse, right after Donald Trump was elected back in2024, re-elected, 42 percent of Americans said the economy isgetting worse. Well, you wantthat number to go down. You wantthat number to go down, ifyou're the president of the United States, instead it'sgoing up."

"What are we talkingabout now, 55 percent of Americans saythat the economy is gettingworse," he added. "I don't know how you winwhen the majority of Americanssay the economy is getting worsebecause you go back through therecord books, and that is aformula that equals failure."

Last month's news was dominated by coverage of Trump's immigration surge in Minnesota, which left two Americans dead in shootings by federal agents, but Enten said they want the president to focus on their economic concerns.

"Much of the news stories overthe month of January werefocused in on Minneapolis,focusing in on controllingimmigration and reducing crime," Enten said. "Those are two things that thepresident of the United Statesand his administration has beenarguing about. But where do the American folks say that Trumpshould be focused, say their toppriority should be loweringprices, 54 percent, the clear majority.We have looked at poll afterpoll after poll after poll afterpoll. I'm exhausting myselfjust talking about it. Everysingle poll say that their toppriority should be loweringprices or the economy, and it isstill the case much lower down.Controlling immigration at 22 percent,even lower than that, reducingcrime at 10 percent. You add together22 and 10, you get to 32, andyou don't have to be amathematical genius to know that54 is larger than 32."

"The Trumpadministration is putting theirfocus on the wrong issues, theissues that are not mostimportant to the Americanpublic, and when you arefocusing on the wrong issues andthe vast majority of Americans, or the clear majority of Americans, say that the economyis getting worse," Enten added. "Again, this is X plus Y equals failure – failure, failure, failure – goinginto the midterm elections,because Donald Trump was electedto fix the economy, and it'sstill believing the Americanpeople that lowering pricesshould be the top, and at thispoint, 55 percent say the economy isgetting worse."