Trump's Biggest Strength Has Become His 'Great Weakness'
By: Yahoo News
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
CNN data reporter Harry Enten said that Donald Trump's Achilles' heel during his second term is the area that was once his greatest strength: the economy.
Based on four new polls, Enten said that Wednesday had been the worst day of polling so far in Trump's second stint in office.
Each of the polls—from CNN, Gallup, Ipsos, and Quinnipiac—showed the president's net approval rating at between -4 and -7.
"Negative, negative, negative, negative. Underwater, underwater, underwater, underwater," an emphatic Enten declared in a Thursday segment on the cable news network. "All of them tell a consistent story, and that is, Trump is on the negative side of the ledger."
"He is underwater like The Little Mermaid," the analyst joked.
Even more surprising was that the drops were concentrated in American's disapproval of the former businessman's financial decision-making.
While the same pollsters had found that voters had a very positive outlook on what Trump could do for the economy at this point during his first term, the consensus was now a net negative.
"I honestly never thought I'd see the day in which Donald Trump would be polling so poor on the economy, but that day is here," Enten said.
"This was one of Donald Trump's great strengths," he added. "Now it's one of his great weaknesses."
Trump's biggest financial moves during his first month have come in the form of the Department of Government Efficiency's much-touted effort to gut the federal bureaucracy.
Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump appear during an executive order signing in the Oval Office at the White House on Feb. 11, 2025 in Washington, D.C. / Andrew Harnik / Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Tech billionaire Elon Musk, who Trump has tapped to lead the charge, had promised significant savings as he purports to be rooting out widespread fraud in the government. However, he has yet to demonstrate these savings—or prove the allegations of fraud.
This hasn't stopped Musk and Trump from floating the idea of issuing a $5,000 tax rebate (or "DOGE dividends") to millions of Americans based on the yet-unproven savings.
Economists on Thursday told the Daily Beast that the proposal was wildly implausible—and even if it did happen, could have a negative impact on the economy.
"The whole thing is beyond absurd," Harvard economist Jeffrey A. Frankel told the Daily Beast.
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That is the story of the last 10 years in this country.
So, exactly what does Donald Trump have to lose? He's not going to run for office again. He's not taking the steps that would be needed to create a political dynasty. Trump doesn't appear to be interested in building up some sort Republican brand as a legacy.
Democrats trying to run against Trump, at this point, would be pretty pathetic. A 'not Trump' campaign strategy will reek of desperation for the midterms. Turning popular opinion against Trump won't make Democrats look any better. That's not going to dig Democrats out of the hole they're in.
Democrats are either going to have get on the 'small government' wagon by celebrating Clinton's purge - or - they're going have to provide a cogent 'bang for the buck' defense of Federal programs. It's too late for Orange-man-bad politics.