CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten noted on Tuesday that the percentage of Americans who believe the country is “on the right track” is through the roof despite President Donald Trump’s negative net favorability rating.
On Tuesday, Enten reported that Americans who believe the country is on the right track is surging under Trump. Enten cited polls from Marist and NBC News, which showed that 45% and 44% think the country is on the right track, respectively. The reporter argued that historically speaking, this is a surge.
“It’s actually a very high percentage when you compare it to some historical numbers. What are we talking about? According to Marist, 45% say that we’re on the right track. That’s the second highest that Marist has measured since 2009. How about NBC News? 44%? That’s the highest since 2004,” Enten said.
If Trump were eligible to run for president again, the data reporter added, these numbers would be a positive argument for reelection.
Enten reported:
The bottom line is the percentage of Americans who say we’re on the right track is through the roof. And if you were to compare it to when presidents have historically been reelected — of course Trump is not constitutionally eligible to run for reelection, but I think it sort of puts it in perspective — 42% of the country says the country is on the right track when the incumbent party is reelected. And also keep in mind, back when [then-Vice President] Kamala Harris lost and the Democrats were turned out of power, only about 27 to 28% of the country said the country was on the right track.
Enten also discussed Trump’s negative net favorability rating — which Enten roasted in animated fashion in a recent report — during the segment and argued that polls have historically “underestimated” the president, and the only fair way to judge his standing is by comparing the man to himself.
He said:
All we talk about is how unpopular Donald Trump is. But in reality, he’s basically more popular than he was at any point in term number one and more popular than he was when he won election back in November of 2024. What are we talking about? His net favorable rating right now comes in at minus four points. Compare that to where he was when he won in November of 2024, when he was at minus seven points, or in March of 2017 when he was at minus 10 points. So when you compare Trump against himself, he’s actually closer to the apex than he is to the bottom of the trough. And of course, that’s so important because Donald Trump, historically speaking, has had his numbers underestimated.
Watch above via CNN.
The post CNN’s Harry Enten Reports Percentage of Americans Who Think Country Is ‘on the Right Track’ Under Trump Is ‘Through the Roof’ first appeared on Mediaite.
