President Donald Trump insisted in a new interview that voters were angry at Republicans, not him – but CNN's Harry Enten said the numbers don't back him up.
According to an average of polls, Enten said Republicans are outperforming Trump on the generic congressional ballot, with 43 percent of voters choosing Republicans for the House compared to Trump's 37 percent approval rating — a six-point gap. Among independents, the spread widens further, with House Republicans outrunning Trump by nine points.
"He's full of it," Enten said. "The president's full of it."
The data also shows voters want congressional Republicans to distance themselves from Trump, not align more closely with him' Enten said, citing polls showing 56 percent of voters want Republicans to "stand up to Trump," compared to just 35 percent who want them to work more closely with him. Among independents, that number climbs to 65 percent.
"What we're dealing with is Republicans are getting dragged down by Donald Trump, not the other way around," Enten said.
Even within the Republican base, Trump trails his own party. While 94 percent of Republican voters say they'll back Republicans for the House, only 80 percent approve of Trump himself — meaning House Republicans are outrunning the president by 14 points among their own voters.
Despite Trump's political drag, prediction markets still give Republicans a 53 percent chance of holding the Senate in 2026, compared to a 47 percent chance for Democrats, according to Enten. He attributed this to the possibility that voters who disapprove of Trump may still vote Republican in Senate races.
"The president, simply put, is full of it," Enten said. "It's him. It's a relationship, and in this case, it's him."
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