CNN anchor Boris Sanchez says “history shows that when fuel prices rise, a president's popularity can drop,” and polling appeared to verify his claim.
CNN analyst Harry Enten had no good news for President Donald Trump regarding his recent impact on gas prices and how this was sinking the future of his Republican Party.
“Not good. Not good, Boris Sanchez. “Not good,” said Enten. “I mean, look at what we're talking about here. … Net approval of Trump on gas prices overall: Whoo! -39 points. My goodness gracious. You think that's low. Look at Independence! Even lower: -53 points.”
“He is underwater, swimming in the deep blue sea,” said Enten. “And even amongst those who voted for him in 2024, he's getting just 56 approval there. The bottom line is this: Americans, Independence: They hate, hate, hate the way that Trump is handling gas prices at this point.”
Enten pointed out that Trump was more trusted on handling the cost of living than Kamala Harris in Oct. 2024 by more than 3 points. In fact, inflation was the key reason why Trump was reelected to a second term. It sank the Biden presidency and derailed Harris' chances of winning.
But today Enten points out that Trump is -41 points on the cost of living.
“And I was digging deeper into that poll, Boris, and I saw that his net approval rating among Independents was -60. Minus 60 points! Among Independents [he has] a near universal dislike of trust on the cost of living,” Enten added. “This is now a record low for Donald Trump on the cost of living, including either his first term or his second term. And with gas prices going up, that means the cost of living is going up as well.”
Where this puts Trump and Republicans just a few months ahead of midterms is an even more dismal prediction, said Enten.
“Trump is below 50 percent. And with the president's party average House midterm seat shift … they lose 35 seats on average in the House of Representatives when the president … at the beginning of the spring, before the midterm election, his approval rating is under 50 percent — and Donald Trump is way under 50 percent.