Grim Reaper
Chief Exit Officer (CEO)
‘Hate, hate, hate’: Data guru has bad news for Trump
'Hate, hate, hate': Data guru has bad news for Trump
Americans have developed a deep and growing hate for the way President Trump is handling gas prices, and the data is now too loud to ignore. That is the blunt assessment from CNN chief guru of political polling, Harry Enten, who delivered what he called the most troubling numbers he has seen for...
thedailyadda.com
U.S. President Donald Trump attends a press briefing at the White House, following the Supreme Court's ruling that Trump had exceeded his authority when he imposed tariffs, in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 20, 2026. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz REFILE
SHARE
Americans have developed a deep and growing hate for the way President Trump is handling gas prices, and the data is now too loud to ignore. That is the blunt assessment from CNN chief guru of political polling, Harry Enten, who delivered what he called the most troubling numbers he has seen for a sitting president in recent memory. The findings, drawn from a Yahoo/YouGov poll conducted between March 12 and 16, paint a picture of a president in serious political trouble.
CNN anchor Boris Sanchez opened the segment with a simple but loaded observation. “History shows that when fuel prices rise, a president’s popularity can drop,” he said. And as the data Enten brought to the screen made clear, the pattern is holding true again.
“Not good. Not good, Boris Sanchez. Not good,” Enten began, setting the tone for everything that followed.
Trump’s net approval rating on gas prices currently sits at minus 39 points overall. Among Independent voters, that number drops even further, hitting a staggering minus 53. Enten described the president as “underwater, swimming in the deep blue sea.” Even among voters who supported Trump in the 2024 presidential election, his approval on gas prices stands at just 56 percent, a number that offers little comfort given the broader collapse in public trust.
“Americans, Independents: they hate, hate, hate the way that Trump is handling gas prices at this point,” Enten said.
The numbers on the cost of living are even more devastating. Back in October 2024, Trump was trusted more than Kamala Harris on handling the cost of living by more than three points. That advantage was not small. Inflation was the defining issue of that election cycle, and it is what carried Trump back to the White House for a second term. It sank the Biden presidency and pulled Harris’s campaign down with it.
Today, that trust is completely gone. Trump’s net approval rating on the cost of living now stands at minus 41 points. That is not a dip. That is a collapse.
“I was digging deeper into that poll, Boris, and I saw that his net approval rating among Independents was minus 60,” Enten revealed. “Among Independents, a near universal dislike of trust on the cost of living.”
Enten was clear that this is not just a bad week or a bad month. This is a record low for Trump on the cost of living, worse than anything recorded during either his first or second term. With gas prices continuing to climb, driven in part by the ongoing war with Iran and its pressure on global oil supply, the cost of living is being pushed higher as well. The two issues are feeding each other.
A new Yahoo/YouGov poll found that 67 percent of Americans disapprove of how Trump is handling the rapidly rising cost of living. Only 26 percent approved. Meanwhile, 71 percent of Americans described the current state of the economy as either “fair” or “poor.”
Enten called it plainly: “This is the most troublesome sign that I have seen for the President of the United States and the Republican Party so far.”
When asked what this means for Republicans heading into the 2026 midterm elections, Enten did not soften his analysis. History shows that when a president’s approval rating is below 50 percent at the start of the spring before midterms, his party loses an average of 35 seats in the House of Representatives. Trump is not just below 50 percent. He is, as Enten put it, “way under 50 percent.”
“You cannot win an election when you are the incumbent party and the top issue is the cost of living, and you’re the president of the United States, and your net approval rating on it is 41 points underwater,” Enten said.
The White House has pushed back, insisting that the administration has a “proven economic agenda” and that any disruptions are temporary. Spokesperson Kush Desai told reporters that after the objectives of “Operation Epic Fury” are achieved, “America is set to achieve new highs.” But for ordinary Americans filling their tanks and stretching their grocery budgets, those promises feel distant. When poll respondents were asked which party would better handle the cost of living crisis, 40 percent chose Democrats and only 37 percent chose Republicans.
The political math is unforgiving. And if the numbers do not turn around before November, Enten’s warning could prove to be one of the most accurate predictions of this political season.