Trump's Inflation Numbers Are the Worst Ever And His Own Words Aren't Helping
There's a difference between a bad poll and a historic one. What Donald Trump is facing right now on inflation and gas prices falls firmly into the second category and a CNN analyst laid it all out in stark terms over the weekend.
Harry Enten, a data analyst for CNN, said Saturday that when it comes to inflation disapproval, Trump has broken the wrong kind of record. No sitting president not Carter during the stagflation era, not Biden during the post-pandemic price surge has ever polled this badly on the issue. According to Enten, Trump is now in territory that simply has no comparison in the data.
The Numbers Tell a Brutal Story
On gas prices specifically, the figures are staggering. Among Democrats, a near-unanimous 97% disapprove of how Trump is handling costs at the pump. That alone isn't surprising. But the number that really stands out is among Republicans 52% of them also give Trump poor marks on gas prices. A sitting president losing majority approval within his own party on a kitchen-table issue is, by any political measure, a serious warning sign.
Among independents, 85% disapprove a number that should concern any re-election strategist given how pivotal that voting bloc tends to be.
"That is the highest disapproval rating of all time," Enten said plainly, leaving little room for interpretation.
Worse Than Carter. Worse Than Biden.
To put it in historical context, Carter's presidency became synonymous with economic pain. Biden faced relentless criticism over inflation that peaked in 2022. Yet somehow, Trump's current numbers on these issues are worse than both. Enten didn't mince words: "When we're talking inflation, we're talking about the worst polls ever for any president."
That's a significant statement and it lands harder given the current political climate where Trump has repeatedly framed himself as the economic fix America needed.
Then Came Trump's Own Words
The polling data alone would have been a rough news cycle. But Trump handed analysts even more to work with when he responded to a reporter's question this week about whether everyday financial pressures were influencing his approach to Iran nuclear negotiations.
His answer was remarkably candid and remarkably detached.
Fox News flashes a graphic of Trump's dire approval numbers. Trump responds by citing that Harry Enten segment saying that he's at 100% approval with MAGA. pic.twitter.com/I8AjBVPliD
"Not even a little bit," Trump said. He then elaborated: "The only thing that matters when I'm talking about Iran, they can't have a nuclear weapon. I don't think about Americans' financial situation. I don't think about anybody. I think about one thing we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That's all."
On its face, it's a statement about foreign policy focus. But in the context of record-breaking economic disapproval, it read to many observers as strikingly tone-deaf. Enten's reaction on air captured what a lot of viewers were likely thinking.
"What are you doing?" he said, almost rhetorically.
Why This Matters Beyond the Polls
Poll numbers shift. What makes this moment more significant is the combination historic disapproval on a deeply personal issue like grocery and gas prices, paired with a public statement from the president saying those struggles simply don't factor into his thinking.
For voters already feeling squeezed, that's not a message that lands well. And with a Republican base that is, for the first time, showing majority-level dissatisfaction on an economic issue, the political pressure on the White House is coming from all directions.
Whether Trump adjusts his messaging or doubles down remains to be seen. But right now, the data is telling a story that even loyal supporters are finding hard to ignore.
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