Trump's Approval Ratings Plunge to Unprecedented Depths, Analyst Warns
CNN's chief data analyst Harry Enten delivered a stark assessment on Monday, revealing that President Donald Trump's approval ratings have sunk to such extraordinary lows that he struggles to find an appropriate comparison. Typically, Enten likens Trump's underwater approval numbers to Olympic divers like Greg Louganis, but the latest polling data shows a plunge so severe it defies conventional analogies.
"I Don't Know Who to Compare Him To"
"I don't really know who to even compare Donald Trump to because he's just so low," Enten stated bluntly. "And he's so low with the center of the electorate."
The analyst highlighted particularly alarming numbers among independent voters, where Trump now stands 27 points underwater according to recent polling. This represents a significant deterioration from his first term, when he was 17 points below water at the same point in his presidency.
Midterm Election Implications
Enten issued a dire warning about the potential consequences for Republicans in November's midterm elections, when control of both the House and Senate will be contested. "When you lose the center of the electorate, you lose the American people," he emphasized.
"I don't understand how this works out well for the president of the United States," Enten continued. "When you are 27 points below water, underwater, with the center of the electorate, with independents, you lose. Your party loses."
Searching for Trump's Approval Floor
The latest numbers prompted Enten to address a persistent question in political analysis circles: "Where is the floor for Donald Trump?"
"And I'm not sure there is a floor," he responded, "because if there is one, Donald Trump, at least in term number two, has just fallen through it to another low level."
Enten presented data from four different pollsters showing Trump's approval ratings ranging from 19 to 26 points underwater. On average, the president stands 22 points below water—significantly worse than the -17 from the same point in his first term, and substantially below the -13 that President Joe Biden registered at this stage of his presidency.
Setting New Records in Unpopularity
"So the bottom line is this: Donald Trump is setting new records for himself in term number two," Enten concluded. "And he's doing worse than Joe Biden, which is, of course the comparison that Donald Trump does not want to be, because we all know what happened to Joe Biden."
Biden's unpopularity proved politically devastating, costing his party control of Congress in the 2022 midterm elections and ultimately forcing him to abandon his reelection campaign. Enten's analysis suggests Trump may be heading toward similar political consequences unless his approval numbers show significant improvement before November.
