CNN data analyst Harry Enten noted a grim milestone for President Donald Trump on Wednesday: a full year of negative approval ratings.
On the March 11, 2026 edition of CNN News Central, anchor John Berman and Chief Data Analyst Harry Enten examined new data indicating Trump has been underwater in polling averages for 365 straight days. The report marked an unwelcome anniversary for the White House as Trump confronts growing political challenges ahead of the 2026 midterms.
“Every day since March 12th, 2025, President Trump has been underwater,” Enten said, presenting his compiled polling figures. He vividly described the president’s situation: “Trump has been swimming with the fishes for a year.”
The statistics offer a bleak outlook for Republicans. Enten’s analysis shows Trump’s net approval among independent voters has plunged to -38 points — worse than George W. Bush at -26 or Barack Obama at -18 at comparable moments in their second terms. Enten labeled Trump’s standing with this key group “downright awful.”
A Fox News poll referenced in the segment found 60 percent of Americans overall think the Trump administration is focused on the wrong issues. That share rises to 78 percent among independents. The veteran data journalist did not soften the political implications: “That’s a big frickin’ problem!”
Wednesday’s breakdown continues a string of polling analyses Enten has produced during Trump’s second term. In November 2025, he examined Trump’s approval with correspondent Elex Michaelson, looking at voter views on tariffs and economic policy. At that time, Trump’s approval among independents had already fallen from -4 in January to -43 in November — a drop Enten called politically fatal.
The president’s signature legislative effort has also struggled to gain public support. When Enten analyzed polling on Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” in June 2025, he found net approval between -19 and -29 points across several surveys. Trump signed the expansive tax-and-spending package on July 4, 2025, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking Senate vote to pass it 51-50.
Vance has remained highly visible throughout the administration. The vice president, who served as an Ohio senator from 2023 to 2025, has become Trump’s main defender and policy interpreter. He also became the first sitting vice president to serve as Republican National Committee finance chairman, handling major fundraising duties ahead of the November midterms.
The stakes are high. Enten noted that prediction markets now put Democrats at a 46 percent chance of retaking both the House and Senate — up from 21 percent at the start of 2026. Democrats have an 84 percent chance of reclaiming the House alone. Such outcomes would significantly reshape the final two years of Trump’s presidency.
Not all polling has been unfavorable for Trump. He keeps very strong support within his party — 86 percent of Republicans approve of his job performance, the highest in-party approval of any 21st-century president at this stage of a second term. Bush and Obama were both at 77 percent. More than half of Republicans say they “strongly approve” of Trump, a majority neither predecessor reached.
Trump’s foreign policy figures have also been a bright spot. Enten reported in November that Trump’s 43 percent foreign policy approval rating outpaced both Bush and Obama at similar points in their second terms, largely due to his handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Yet the overall trend remains worrying for Republicans. In February 2026, ahead of Trump’s State of the Union, Enten reported the president’s net approval had dropped to -27 points — his worst pre-State of the Union rating. His earlier lows were -15 points in both 2018 and 2019.
For CNN, the ongoing polling coverage underscores its focus on data-driven political reporting. Enten, promoted to Chief Data Analyst in February 2025, has become the network’s go-to voice on electoral trends. His frequent appearances breaking down complex survey data into TV-friendly commentary have made him a regular on CNN News Central’s morning lineup.
As Trump reaches one year of continuous negative approval ratings, Republicans must consider whether the pattern will persist through November. If it does, Enten’s analysis suggests the midterms could be devastating for the president’s party — turning what Trump called his “big beautiful bill” into, as Enten said, “a big, beautiful night” for Democrats.