CNN data guru Harry Enten has highlighted a sharp drop in President Donald Trump’s popularity among one critical section of his core supporters.
Enten crunched the problematic numbers for Republicans ahead of November’s midterm elections, a day after Trump’s approval rating sank to a diabolical 33 percent, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Joining Erin Burnett on CNN’s OutFront on Wednesday, the pair weighed in on the success of Brandon Dukes, the Democratic candidate, who is projected to flip a Philadelphia state House seat held by the Republicans since the late 1990s. Trump also won Pennsylvania’s 12th District by 18 points in 2024.
“Is this an isolated incident or is this the start of something bigger?” Burnett asked Enten.
The 38-year-old said he felt it was something bigger, noting one of the things that Dukes ran on was his “working-class upbringing.”
“And what you see in sort of that district, and what you see nationwide, is Donald Trump won with white working-class voters. But look at the switch that we’ve seen amongst them.”
Citing his own “Enten’s aggregate” calculations and a CNN exit poll, the data analyst compared Trump’s approval with the white working class, which was plus-34 points in the 2024 election, and is now minus-4 points.
“He’s underwater with the white working class,” Enten said. “That’s a 38-point switcheroo since the election. What’s going on in that district, what happened in terms of another flip in Pennsylvania, earlier, this cycle is emblematic in my mind of the group that has been the core of Donald Trump’s support.”
He added that it was a case of “Adiós amigos, goodbye, see you later.”
Enten also focused on seats flipped in special elections.
“There have been 13 Democrats who have been able to flip districts that were formerly held by Republicans,” he noted.
“Republicans have flipped zero in special elections! You don’t have to be a mathematical genius to know that 13 is greater than zero.”
Democrats have scored victories in traditionally red states including Iowa, Florida, Texas, and Mississippi.
Enten also pointed out that in all of the last five cycles in midterm elections, the party that outperformed in special elections, whether it be state, legislative or federal, went on to win the House of Representatives.
“So, this to me is very emblematic of something that could be huge come November,” Enten said of the midterms.
Trump’s dwindling popularity continues to spell trouble for Republicans.
Only 33 percent of Americans say they approve of Trump’s performance in the White House, according to a four-day Reuters/Ipsos survey that concluded Monday.
That marks a new low for Trump’s second-term approval rating in a Reuters/Ipsos poll, matching the worst rating of his first term, recorded in December 2017.
Ominously for Trump, his approval rating nosedived 2 percentage points in just two weeks: An Aug. 3 Reuters/Ipsos survey had found Trump’s approval at 35 percent.
The new survey published Monday found 64 percent of Americans disapproving of Trump’s performance.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
