Ukrainians are not impressed with Donald Trump’s effort to end the country’s war with Russia, according to CNN data guru Harry Enten.
Trump has so far failed to bring an end to the fighting between Russia and Ukraine, with negotiations between the two foes still ongoing.
Discussing new polling on CNN, Enten said Trump’s strategy appears to rely on pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky into accepting concessions. “What Trump is hoping is that he can, you know, put his finger on Volodymyr Zelensky and pressure him,” Enten said.
But he argued that the approach is unlikely to work because of Trump’s deteriorating image in Ukraine. Gallup polling shows net approval of U.S. leadership among Ukrainians has plunged from +3 in 2024 to -72 in 2026. “That is a 75-point switcheroo in the wrong direction,” Enten said, adding that Zelensky is unlikely to worry that resisting Trump’s demands would hurt him politically.
CNN anchor Sara Sidner said the shift was unsurprising, pointing to Trump’s rhetoric toward Kyiv. “Some of the comments that Trump has made, some of the niceties with Russia, and yelling at the president while they are in war has been a real problem for the Ukrainian people.”
Relations between Trump and Zelensky have remained strained since their heated Oval Office meeting in February 2025, when Trump and Vice President JD Vance accused the Ukrainian leader of being “disrespectful” while pressing him to accept a peace deal.
The confrontation derailed a planned minerals agreement, prompted Zelensky to leave the White House early, and was followed by a temporary suspension of U.S. military aid and intelligence sharing.
Since then, the two leaders have met on multiple occasions, but relations remain strained, with European allies increasingly acting as intermediaries between Kyiv and Washington as they try to negotiate a peace deal with Russia, which also is not going well.
Trump, who previously said he would solve the Russia-Ukraine war on day one of his second term, has so far failed to negotiate a peace deal, with U.S.-led peace talks stalling.
In January, he blamed Zelensky for the lack of progress, telling Reuters the obstacle was simply: “Zelensky.”
At the same time, Trump insisted Russian President Vladimir Putin was ready to negotiate. “I think he’s ready to make a deal,” Trump said. “I think Ukraine is less ready to make a deal,” directly contradicting European allies, who have long maintained that Moscow is not genuinely interested in ending the conflict, instead aiming to seize additional territory while avoiding new Western sanctions.
More recently, Trump has reportedly stepped up pressure on Russia to make a deal with Ukraine, urging Putin and Zelensky to meet in person, a proposal they have refused.
Amid the deadlock, Pew Research polling has shown that the share of Americans who trust Trump to handle the Russia-Ukraine war has fallen from 45 percent in 2024 to 32 percent in 2026, while Republican confidence has dropped from 81 percent to 60 percent.
“The bottom line,” Enten concluded, is that “Trump comes into any negotiations in a weakened state, given the domestic feelings in Russia and Ukraine and the domestic feelings here in the United States as well.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
Despite the tensions, Trump and Zelensky have met again in recent months, including at the G7 summit, and have continued speaking by phone. Zelensky has said there is “a real prospect to end this war,” but has continued urging Trump to increase pressure on Moscow, saying: “Trump can do it, or only maybe only him.”
