CNN’s chief data analyst was stunned by President Donald Trump’s dismal new polling on an issue that hits close to home for many Americans.
Trump, 79, is a staggering 49 points underwater on inflation, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted over the weekend. The poll found that 70 percent of Americans disapproved of the way Trump is handling fast-rising prices, while only 21 percent approved.
“Donald John Trump is in the worst position he has ever been on inflation, and more than that, these are the worst numbers I’ve ever seen for any president,” Enten said Wednesday.
The latest numbers put Trump in a worse position than Joe Biden, the predecessor he deeply hates.
“You remember Joe Biden? Inflation absolutely crushed his presidency. But at his worst, according to Ipsos, he was just 43 points underwater,” Enten explained. “So Trump is lower now on inflation than Joe Biden ever was, according to Ipsos.”
“And I will note that the inflation rate right now is only about a third as it was back in June of 2022, yet Trump’s numbers are significantly worse than Biden’s ever were,” he added.
Trump didn’t even do better than Jimmy Carter, whose presidency was notoriously plagued by stratospheric inflation rates.
Citing data from Ipsos and American National Election Studies, Enten said Carter’s net approval on inflation was -46 points in October 1980, when inflation was 12.8 percent. That’s still lower than Trump’s -49 this month, when inflation hovered around three percent.
When reached for comment, the White House insisted that Trump is “implementing his proven, first-term economic agenda of tax cuts, deregulation, and energy abundance.”
“As cargo traffic in the Strait of Hormuz begins to normalize again and the disruptions of Operation Epic Fury begin to subside, Americans can rest assured that the best is yet to come,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai said.
The April Ipsos poll also found that a growing number of Americans think the national economy is off on the wrong track. The survey found that 64 percent of Americans believe the U.S. is off-course, while only 19 percent said the economy is going in the right direction.
“It’s mind-blowing. You just never see numbers like this,” Enten said.
The same poll found that Trump’s approval rating has plummeted to a new low, with only 34 percent of Americans approving of his performance.
