‘Not Hurting Him at All’: CNN Analyst Gives Terrible Shutdown News for Dems
Even CNN is being forced to admit it — President Donald J. Trump is weathering the ongoing government shutdown far better than Democrats expected.
During a segment Monday, CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten broke the bad news to Democrats, noting that new polling data shows Trump’s approval ratings remain steady — and even slightly improved — despite the extended shutdown.
Referring to fresh numbers from an AP-NORC survey, Enten told host John Berman that “shutdowns are distinct during the second occurrence concerning Donald Trump.”
“That’s exactly right. It turns out shutdowns are different the second time around when it comes to Donald Trump,” Enten said. “In 2018/2019, Donald Trump’s net approval rate was already falling. The shutdown was eating into his popular support. It was down 3 points already at this particular point and would fall considerably more. It was very much on the decline. You come over to this side of the screen, this shutdown hasn’t eaten into Donald Trump’s support at all.”
According to Enten, Trump’s net approval rating is up by a point, demonstrating that the current shutdown — now stretching into another week — has done little to hurt the president politically.
“So the bottom line is this,” Enten added. “The first shutdown during Trump’s first term, 2018/2019, was hurting Donald Trump. This one is not hurting him at all. There’s no real reason Donald Trump might say, at least when it comes to popular support, I want to get out of this shutdown.”
Berman pressed further, asking about the “question of blame.” Enten’s answer was equally devastating for Democrats.
“Blame Trump for the shutdown — a great deal in 2018/2019 — 61 percent, more than 3 in 5 Americans blamed Trump a great deal for that particular shutdown,” he said. “You come over to this side of the screen, look at this. It’s a different world. Forty-eight percent of Americans blame Trump a great deal for this particular shutdown.”
That 13-point drop in blame, Enten explained, means fewer Americans hold Trump responsible, making it easier for him to maintain the upper hand politically.
“Again, it’s no real wonder that Donald Trump at this point, looking at the shutdown, says, ‘You know what? It’s not actually harming me politically,’ in large part because he’s getting less of the blame,” Enten continued.
When Berman asked whether Trump is handling things differently this time, Enten agreed — pointing to a surge in executive orders as proof that the president has kept governing despite gridlock in Congress.
“He’s using his pen. He’s using executive orders,” Enten said. “Trump executive orders at this point of presidency in 2017, it was just 50. Look at this — already 210 executive orders signed by Donald Trump during this presidency. That is the most in a year. You have to go all the way back to Franklin Delano Roosevelt to find a president who signed more executive orders in a year than Donald Trump has already signed this time around.”
He concluded by noting that Trump still has “two months to go in this year,” hinting that even more action could be on the way.
While Democrats scramble to control the narrative, even CNN’s own data analysts now admit what many conservatives have long recognized: President Trump’s political instincts — and ability to lead through crisis — remain unmatched.