Enten: Trump Is In The Worst Position Of Any President Before A Midterm; His Unpopularity Is "History In The Making"
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2026/10/10/enten_trump_is_in_the_worst_position_of_any_president_before_a_midterm_his_unpopularity_is_history_in_the_making.html

CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten examines new Pew Research polling showing President Donald Trump's approval rating 38 points underwater, which he says is the worst position for any president ahead of a midterm election.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: We have a new look now at just how much the Iran War and how people feel about it and the economy are impacting how they also feel about President Trump right now.

Joining us now, running the numbers is Harry Enten.

So, this comes from new polling data from Pew.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes.

BOLDUAN: What are you seeing?

ENTEN: I mean, laughably bad. No president I've ever seen is in a worse position before a midterm election than President Trump.

I mean, just look at this. Just look at this. Thirty-eight points underwater. Thirty point -- 38 points underwater. You go all the way back. You go back to Harry S. Truman, FDR, at this point before a midterm.

BOLDUAN: Ever? Ever?

ENTEN: Ever. Ever. At this point before a midterm election, you're talking about your September, October polling, the worst I've ever seen is Donald John Trump, 38 points underwater. I mean it's, as I said, the worst I've ever seen. It's laughable. I mean it -- these numbers are worse than the Ferris Bueller television show was.

BOLDUAN: OK.

ENTEN: That show was terrible, by the way.

BOLDUAN: Stuns me -- stuns me into silence all the time.

ENTEN: There we go.

BOLDUAN: Back to the polling.

ENTEN: Yes.

BOLDUAN: Put it into context. What else? How does this fit with what -- everything else you're seeing?

ENTEN: Right. So, you see this negative 38 points underwater. I mean he's further -- I mean he's way under the Hudson River at this point.

But it's not the only one, right? I mean, just take a look. Trump's net approval rating worse than negative 30 points. You have Ipsos, the Reuters/Ipsos poll, 33 points underwater. Now, there was another one last month, he was 34 points underwater. CNN poll, 34 points underwater. And AP/NORC poll, 38 points under water. The Pew poll, 38 points underwater. No other president before a midterm election was even at minus 31. And now we're seeing one, two, three, four, I guess five, if you count that other Ipsos poll as well.

And so we're just seeing across the map, in all the polling data that we are looking at, we are looking at history in the making here for the unpopularity of President Trump for a president before a midterm election. And if you're a Republican who is running for re-election this term, or a Republican who wants to join Congress, this is the headwinds that you have to face. It's historic headwinds in which you are essentially going, oh my God, how am I supposed to win with numbers from a president this bad?

BOLDUAN: Our wonderful viewers will likely know the answer to what is driving this, because it has been the same things driving the numbers for a long time, the economy. But when it comes to the Pew poll, take us inside, what is driving why it is so bad?

ENTEN: You know, if you've been watching, we have been drilling in this message day after day, week after week, month after month, because its staring us right in the face. And we want to make sure that you understand what's going on here.

And look at this. I mean, independents, the name of the game. The reason why the last election was so close, but one that President Trump won over Kamala Harris was, take a look at independents according to the Pew poll. The Pew validated research. Look at that. It was tied. It was tied.