CNN’s Harry Enten warned Tuesday that Donald Trump’s falling popularity is proof that Democrats “won” the government shutdown and spell disaster for Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterms.
The president’s approval rating has fallen from -10 percent to a historic low of -15 percent since the end of the 43-day shutdown nearly two weeks ago. After months of declining popularity, Democrats experienced a much-needed surge.
“I think it’s absolutely clear, at least from a political perspective, that the Democrats won the shutdown,” Enten, the network’s chief data correspondent, told anchor John Berman on Tuesday. “Why am I saying this? Well, first of all, let’s take a look at Donald Trump’s net approval rating.
“It’s well below where it was previously closed,” he said, pointing to a graphic on the screen. “Before the shutdown, his net approval rating was minus 10 points. Now it’s at -15 points: the lowest his net approval rating has been during his entire second term in office.
He stressed, “So the shutdown may have been helping Donald Trump a little bit initially, or at least not causing his ratings to drop. But now his ratings are down more than a term.”
Contrasting Trump’s poor fortunes with that of the Democrats, Enten pointed to polling data that shows a growing gap between the two parties.
“But take a look at general congressional polling pre-shutdown: They were ahead by three points,” he said, referring to Democrats. “Where are they now? They’re ahead by five points. Their lead has widened, it’s grown, when you look at the people who are absolutely confident to vote, they’re likely voters.
“We saw that five-point lead grow to nine points in the Marquette University Law School poll last week,” he said.
“So the Democratic lead on the general ballot has increased, and Donald Trump’s political position has worsened. I don’t see how you can look at both of those angles and conclude anything other than the Democrats, at least from a political standpoint, have won this shutdown.”
Comparing the two polling leads, Enten said, “So the difference between this number and this number, it’s Democrats feeling pretty good heading into the midterms. It’s Democrats feeling pretty good going into the midterms.
“And it looks exactly like what happened in both New Jersey and Virginia and in the special elections so far this year, which is that Democrats are actually doing better than the baseline from 2024, which, of course, they will need to win in 2026.”
Trump, meanwhile, had his own story to tell. “I got the highest poll numbers of my career,” the president wrote in a post on Truth Social on Saturday morning without citing any sources.
“Although my great work on the economy has not yet been fully appreciated, it will be! Things are really awesome.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
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