CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten on Thursday laid out how President Donald Trump’s tariffs push isn’t helping Americans’ impression of his job performance.
Trump has seen his approval rating drop in the ten weeks since the start of his second term, according to an aggregate of data tracked by RealClearPolling. The site’s most recent average of polls finds 48% approve of Trump’s performance, while 48.8% disapprove.
Enten pointed to the fact that most Americans oppose tariffs, which have become central to the president’s economic policy.
“That is a big reason why we’ve seen Donald Trump’s overall approval rating take a pretty big dip over the last two months and change,” Enten said.
Enten’s report arrives one day after Trump revealed plans to impose 25% tariffs on imported cars and light trucks, with the president claiming that such a move would “spur growth” for American manufacturing and lower vehicle prices for consumers.
Auto industry experts, however, expect the cost of auto production — and the price of vehicles — to surge as a result of Trump’s plans.
On Thursday, Enten turned to data showing a majority of Americans oppose tariffs on both Canada and Mexico, two countries targeted in Trump’s trade wars.
Enten proceeded to comment on the 30% of Americans who, per a CBS News/YouGov poll last month, think Trump “should prioritize” tariffs.
“They want him prioritizing the economy, they want him prioritizing inflation, they don’t want him prioritizing tariffs, yet that is exactly what he is doing,” Enten stressed.
“So on this particular issue, Donald Trump is, simply put, not with the American public.”
Enten later commented on data showing just 31% of Americans agree that U.S. workers will come out ahead with tariffs, while 49% disagree with the argument.
We Don't Work For Billionaires. We Work For You.
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.
“So on all the different angles that we could possibly cover, I just don’t see how this is a political winner for Donald Trump,” he said.
H/T: Mediaite