CNN Data Guru Breaks Down Trump’s ‘Absolutely Devastating’ Polling on the Economy

CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten warned President Donald Trump’s standing with voters on the economy has deteriorated dramatically, calling new polling “absolutely devastating” as the president prepares to deliver an economic address in Michigan on Monday.

Appearing on CNN News Central hours before the rally, Enten told host Jon Berman that the issue widely seen as central to Trump’s 2024 election victory had become one of his biggest political liabilities, pointing to polling showing a sharp shift in how Americans view their personal finances under the president.

“Promises made, promises broken in the minds of the American public,” Enten said, comparing voter expectations before the 2024 election with current sentiment.

He noted that, in October 2024, 44% of voters believed Trump would make them financially better off, while 38% expected to be worse off. According to the latest polling, however, 58% now say Trump is making them financially worse off, while just 13% say they are better off.

“These are absolutely devastating numbers,” Enten said. “The issue that got Trump reelected, now the voters absolutely turn against him.”

Berman underscored the findings, telling viewers: “They’re saying he is making them worse off. Just think about what this poll is actually saying there.”

Enten also pointed to broader pessimism about the national economy. While 42% of Americans said the economy was getting worse around the time Trump returned to office, he said that figure has climbed to 59% in the latest survey, with only about one in five saying conditions are improving.

“I don’t know how this works for Republicans come the midterm elections, when the economy is the number one issue with inflation and three in five say it’s getting worse off,” Enten said. “That’s an equation that does not work out to success.”

The analyst also highlighted Trump’s standing in historical context, citing CBS News/YouGov polling that he said shows the president posting the worst net economic approval rating at this stage of a second term.

“Donald John Trump – 30 points underwater!” Enten said, adding that the figure is “even worse than [former President] George W Bush heading into those midterms back in 2006.”

The discussion concluded with Trump’s calls for lower interest rates, a change Trump has touted as a possible remedy, with Berman noting the president now had “a new chair of the Federal Reserve.”

Enten cited Kalshi prediction markets, saying they assign “less than 1% chance” of a Federal Reserve rate cut at this week’s meeting and a 19% chance of one before the end of the year.

“The bottom line is the American people think the economy is getting worse and what Trump wants to do, in fact, prediction markets, those who are putting their money where their mouth is, don’t think it’s going to happen,” he said.

Watch above via CNN.

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