President Donald Trump‘s approval ratings have sunk to new lows in his second term. The CNN data analyst Harry Enten says the poll numbers are grim for Republicans heading into the midterms. Trump’s net approval rating has dropped by 37 points since his second inauguration, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll cited by the host.
CNN host talks about Donald Trump’s poll numbers
The president started his second term up six points but now sits 31 points underwater, a term-two low. “You know, if this were a game of limbo, President Trump would be winning,” Enten said. “Unfortunately, this is the game of presidential popularity, and he is reaching record lows yet again. He is losing.”
He broke down the numbers further, noting that Donald Trump’s current poll numbers are significantly worse than at the same point in his first term. “President Trump was unpopular going into the midterms during his first presidency, but not anywhere as unpopular as this.
He was 12 points underwater,” Enten said. “He is doing 19 points worse than he was doing in term number one at this point.”
Those 2018 midterms resulted in Republicans losing control of the House, which makes the party’s current trajectory especially concerning. After all, the steepest drop comes from independent voters.
Trump held a near-even -1 percent approval among independents at the start of his second term. That has since collapsed to 47 points underwater, a 46-point swing.
“Republicans still in large part support Donald Trump, but it’s independents who are the name of the game, they are the driver in elections,” Enten explained.
He compared this to the same stretch before the 2018 midterms, when Trump’s approval among independents stood at just 10 points underwater. “Now he’s 47 points underwater,” Enten said.
CNN’s Harry Enten framed the shift as a warning sign for the GOP’s midterm prospects. “You have to win the center of the electorate in order to maintain your popularity, in order for Republicans to win in these midterm elections. But independents are saying, ‘You know what? We don’t like what’s going on. See you later.'”
