President Donald Trump has prioritized making sweeping changes to Washington, D.C., but a data analyst found those plans are strikingly unpopular.
The president raged at length over the weekend at a federal judge who ordered his name removed from the Kennedy Center, and his other planned projects – from the White House ballroom to painting the Reflecting Pool blue – have faced legal challenges of their own, but CNN's Harry Enten found little public support for those efforts.
"I'm just going toquote Michael Jordan here: 'Stopit, just stop it,'" Enten said. "The Americanpeople are saying to thepresident of the United States,you could see right here, kidslaughing off there on the side.I mean, just look at this, naminggovernment buildings after Trump,acceptable right now as he ispresident of the United Statesof America. Just 9 percent, just 9 percent.Literally, you can put it onyour two hands. When you can putsomething on your two hands, youknow, it's a very small sectionof the public. My littlefootnote on here includes just17 percent of Republicans, 50 percent say notacceptable at all – the clearplurality here, and then you getthis additional 21 percent who say, youknow, it's okay to put President Trump's name ongovernment buildings, but onlyafter he leaves office."
"But thebottom line is this, greatlyunpopular, President Trump orthe government putting his name on government buildings," he added. "I thinkthe American people are standingup and applauding the fact that Trump is leaving this aside,because the American people,simply put, are not with it."
Single-digit support is obviously low, Enten said, but he tried to number into context with other topics.
"Americans who believe it's okayright now to name governmentbuildings for Trump, just 9 percent," he said. "Toput that into some perspective,10 percent of Americans believe thatthe earth is flat, and 12 percent of Americans think that the moonlanding was faked, which ofcourse it was not, and ofcourse, the earth is actuallyround. So fewer Americans thinkit's acceptable right now toput President Trump's name ongovernment buildings thanbelieve two conspiracy theories, either the earth is flat or themoon landing was fake, and whenyou're lower than that, youknow that you're doing somethingquite, quite unpopular."
Voters backed Trump for a second term because he promised to tackle inflation, but consumer costs remain high and he has seemingly focused his attention on unrelated topics.
"President Trumpgot elected to a second term todeal with inflation," Enten said. "Of course,right now, what we're talkingabout is President Trump gettingrecord low ratings on inflation,not just for himself, but forany president, and it just goesback to this. Trump on issuesfacing most Americans focusedenough, just 29 percent, just one in three Americans say that President Trump is focused enough on theissues facing most Americans. The clear majority, thesupermajority, more than two andthree, 68 percent, say, no, he's notfocused enough, and that is whyhis approval rating has beenfalling in the 30s in multiplepolls, because he's focused onthe wrong issues."
"He's focusedon putting his name on thegovernment buildings," Enten added. "They'retalking about, what was that, that $250 commemorative billthat we're talking about rightthere. Dude, again, just toquote Michael Jordan, stop it,stop it. Focus on inflation,focus on the economy, and thenmaybe your approval ratings willactually get above 40 percent."
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