President Donald Trump has set a new record for the most days in a calendar year with average gasoline prices above $4 per gallon, according to CNN’s chief data analyst Harry Enten. This figure surpasses the previous record set by President Joe Biden in 2022.
Enten highlighted the statistic, citing data from AAA and GasBuddy, and characterized the record as one Trump "should not be proud of." He further described it as an "absolute backbreaker" for Republican candidates running in nationwide elections, noting it as another "unwanted record" for the president.
The war in Iran, which began months ago, has been cited as a factor contributing to the surge in gas and diesel prices. Enten suggested that this conflict has negatively impacted Trump's approval ratings, which have dropped significantly since the war's commencement. The data guru pointed out that this decline is the steepest for any president heading into midterm elections, with Trump's net approval rating falling from -12 to -22 percentage points. Among independents, his approval rating has fallen from -32 to -45.
Enten also observed that Democrats have seen an improvement in aggregate polling for generic U.S. House ballots since the start of the war, shifting from a 5-point advantage over Republicans to a 9-point edge. He noted that due to redistricting, Democrats would need to win the national vote by approximately 4 points to regain control of the House.