'Flat-out awful': Trump 'cracks GOP base' with 'horrendous' polling on crucial issue
President Donald Trump's approval rating on a key issue is "flat-out awful," according to CNN's Harry Enten.
A Republican proposal to set up health savings accounts to purchase insurance on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace failed Thursday on a largely part-line vote, and Enten told "CNN News Central" that polling shows Americans do not approve of the president's approach to health care at all.
"Just flat out awful – in fact, it's the worst of his major issues," Enten said. "I mean, just take a look here. This is according to the new AP-NORC poll, 29 percent – he doesn't even reach 30 percent on it, approve of the job. I was looking back at all the opinion polls, this ties for his lowest rating ever in either term one or term two, disapprove, more than double, 69 percent runs 40 points higher than the approval. That is gosh-darn awful, it's horrendous, and when you look at Republicans, even 39 percent of Republicans say they disapprove."
After the GOP proposal fell short in the Senate, the president attempted a conciliatory at this year’s Congressional Ball by welcoming Republicans and Democrats alike and calling to "set aside all political differences," at least for the evening.
"When we're talking about two-fifths of the Republicanepublican base saying they disapprove of Donald Trump in a particular issue, you know, that the American people are against him, and I should point out this 29 percent is no outlier," Enten said. "I was looking at the Fox News poll, that was up 35 percent as well. The bottom line is Americans very much dislike Donald Trump and health care. It is no wonder he's taking a more conciliatory tone."
Polling shows a clear preference to extend subsidies for Obamacare that are set to expire at the end of the year without congressional action, Enten said.
"A clear majority of the American public say they want those expiring ACA subsidies extended, compared to just 30 percent who say let them expire," Enten said. "Again, we're talking double, more than double, on the extend side versus the let expire, and even 45 percent of Republicans on my little note there say that they should be extended. Again, we're talking about an issue that unites Democrats and cracks the Republican base right down the middle. This is just awful politics for Republicans."
"This is really simple, blame if ACA subsidies aren't extended, this is among those who are enrolled in the ACA – look at this, 63 percent, the vast majority say Trump or congressional Republicans will get the blame, compared to just 19 percent of congressional Democrats," Enten added. "Again, the point of this segment is we are seeing massive, massive majorities blaming Trump, saying they want the ACA subsidies to be extended, and if they're not, they are blaming the Republican Party and Donald Trump. The polling is rarely ever this clear, but on this issue, it is very much clear. This is an issue that hurts Republicans and very much helps Democrats."
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Rep. Ilhan Omar speaking in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo credit: Gage Skidmore / Flickr)