President Donald Trump, already in voters’ crosshairs over the economy, is now getting a failing grade for his handling of an issue looming larger by the day, according to CNN’s chief data analyst.
Harry Enten, whom Trump singled out as the network’s “best person” last month, revealed on CNN News Central Monday that Americans “absolutely despise” the 80-year-old president’s handling of artificial intelligence.
Enten, 38, pointed to a new University of Massachusetts Amherst poll finding that just 23 percent of Americans say Trump has handled AI well, compared with 57 percent who say he has handled it poorly.
“The American people despise President Trump when it comes to his handling of artificial intelligence,” Enten said. “He’s 34 points underwater! My goodness gracious! And somehow, that’s become worse over the course of the year because back in March, he was closer to around 25 points underwater.”
Independents were especially sour on Trump’s handling of AI, giving him a -61 net approval rating.
“You would have to combine Jacques Cousteau with The Little Mermaid to get as far underwater as Donald Trump is with independents on AI,” Enten quipped. “As I said, the American people, and independents especially, absolutely despise President Trump when it comes to this issue that is becoming even more key as we lead up to the midterm elections.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Americans’ dim view of Trump’s AI record comes as researchers and tech leaders are raising increasingly dire warnings that the increasingly powerful systems could usher in a dystopian future and even wipe out humanity.
But Trump has brushed aside calls to slow AI development. Asked about the alarms being sounded over AI on Sunday, he argued that “it’s going to be more good than bad by a lot.”
The billionaire president also rejected concerns about building data centers in communities during an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham on Friday, blasting “stupid people” for not wanting them.
But Enten pointed to a CBS News poll finding that 54 percent of voters would prefer a candidate who opposes new data centers in their area, compared to 15 percent who would prefer one who supports building them.
He argued Americans “don’t buy” Trump’s claims that data centers and AI will create more jobs, noting that the poll found 64 percent of Americans think AI will reduce the number of jobs, while just 19 percent say it will create more.
