CNN’s chief data analyst Harry Enten said Monday that an aggregate of national polling shows President Donald Trump carrying negative net approval ratings across a range of major issues, a pattern he described as “one ugly duckling forest” in a segment with anchor John Berman.
Enten cited net approval — the percentage approving minus the percentage disapproving — that places Trump underwater on his two issues he has been strongest on: crime (-2) and immigration (-3). The aggregated data also shows negative net ratings on foreign policy (-12), trade (-17) and the economy (-14). Enten said the pattern represents broad weakness rather than isolated problems.
Enten noted that Trump had held a negative net approval rating every day since March 12 — 181 days in a row at the time of the analysis — and summarized the aggregated picture bluntly: “There is no good data for Donald Trump when looking at the aggregate. And looking overall, he has been negative for a very long period of time, the vast majority of his second presidency.” He added that on "all the key issues, he is again swimming with the fishes — consistency across the board."
When Berman asked what had changed since February to move Trump from a positive to a negative overall standing, Enten pointed to recent CBS News/YouGov polling that showed sharp declines in approval among two groups that were important to Trump’s 2020 victory. According to Enten’s read of the poll, Trump’s net approval among voters ages 18 to 29 fell from +2 in February to -30 in the most recent survey. His net approval among Hispanic voters moved from -6 in February to -34.
Enten has previously highlighted declines in public support tied to economic concerns such as tariffs and inflation. He said the economy — an issue that helped boost Trump’s standing en route to a second term — now shows a sour net approval in the aggregate, joining trade and foreign policy as areas of negative public assessment.
The data chief’s analysis frames the president’s standing not as a single, isolated weakness but as a pattern of underperformance across multiple issue areas, including those that have historically been pillars of his political appeal. Enten’s comments reflect an aggregate approach to polling that combines multiple surveys to track trends over time; he emphasized the consistency of the downward trajectory rather than the results of any single poll.
CNN aired Enten’s analysis as part of its regular examination of national polling trends. The network segment did not offer policy prescriptions or campaign responses; Trump campaign officials did not provide an on-air rebuttal during the broadcast.