Trump’s Biggest Strength Has Become His ‘Great Weakness’: CNN Data Reporter
“He is underwater like ‘The Little Mermaid,” analyst Harry Enten said on Thursday.
Screenshot/CNN
CNN data reporter Harry Enten said that Donald Trump’s Achilles’ heel during his second term is the area that was once his greatest strength: the economy.
Based on four new polls, Enten said that Wednesday had been the worst day of polling so far in Trump’s second stint in office.
Each of the polls—from CNN, Gallup, Ipsos, and Quinnipiac—showed the president’s net approval rating at between -4 and -7.
“Negative, negative, negative, negative. Underwater, underwater, underwater, underwater,” an emphatic Enten declared in a Thursday segment on the cable news network. “All of them tell a consistent story, and that is, Trump is on the negative side of the ledger.”
“He is underwater like The Little Mermaid,” the analyst joked.
The last day has been the worst polling day for Trump during his entire 2nd term.
— (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) February 20, 2025
-4 polls show his net approval rating underwater like The Little Mermaid.
-The 3 polls with a trend line show his ratings going down.
-His one time strength (the economy) is now a weakness. pic.twitter.com/l9IQOhXS9K
Even more surprising was that the drops were concentrated in American’s disapproval of the former businessman’s financial decision-making.
Get the best of The Beast delivered right to your inbox
By clicking “SUBSCRIBE” you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
While the same pollsters had found that voters had a very positive outlook on what Trump could do for the economy at this point during his first term, the consensus was now a net negative.
“I honestly never thought I’d see the day in which Donald Trump would be polling so poor on the economy, but that day is here,” Enten said.
“This was one of Donald Trump’s great strengths,” he added. “Now it’s one of his great weaknesses.”
Trump’s biggest financial moves during his first month have come in the form of the Department of Government Efficiency’s much-touted effort to gut the federal bureaucracy.
Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump appear during an executive order signing in the Oval Office at the White House on Feb. 11, 2025 in Washington, D.C.
Andrew Harnik/Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Tech billionaire Elon Musk, who Trump has tapped to lead the charge, had promised significant savings as he purports to be rooting out widespread fraud in the government. However, he has yet to demonstrate these savings—or prove the allegations of fraud.
This hasn’t stopped Musk and Trump from floating the idea of issuing a $5,000 tax rebate (or “DOGE dividends”) to millions of Americans based on the yet-unproven savings.
Economists on Thursday told the Daily Beast that the proposal was wildly implausible—and even if it did happen, could have a negative impact on the economy.
“The whole thing is beyond absurd,” Harvard economist Jeffrey A. Frankel told the Daily Beast.
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.