CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten sifted through the latest numbers from the network's poll and revealed that President Donald Trump is now doing worse than his predecessors.
Speaking about the numbers released Wednesday, Enten said that American anger about gas prices has exploded. A whopping 76 percent of Americans disapprove of the way that Trump is handling fuel costs. While gas prices were higher under President Joe Biden during the post-pandemic energy and inflation crisis, the jump in gas prices under Trump has been significant enough to rile Americans.
Host John Berman began the segment, citing the president's approval at just 31 percent, "an all-time career low for him."
"This is no April Fool's joke. This is disaster," Enten said. "All these numbers are a disaster for President Trump. Let's just talk about inflation, which is the name of the game."
The numbers there show that more people disapprove of Trump on the issue of inflation than both Biden and former President Jimmy Carter, who was in office during an energy crisis in the 1970s.
"And Jimmy Carter, whose presidency, just like Joe Biden's, was absolutely wrecked by inflation, was at 66 percent about at this point in his presidency back in 1978, Donald Trump, even worse than they are," said Enten.
Of Carter, Trump said in 2019, “He’s a nice man. He was a terrible President. He’s been trashed within his own party. He’s been trashed.”
Trump added an addendum to his opinion in April of 2025, saying, "Jimmy Carter died a happy man. You know why? Because he wasn't the worst. President Joe Biden was."
In Trump's case, 72 percent disapprove of his handling of inflation.
On the economy, the highest disapproval for former President George W. Bush around this same time was 57 percent. Trump has exceeded that and more, with 69 percent of Americans disapproving of his handling of the economy. At the same time in his presidency, President Barack Obama's worst numbers were 56 percent.
"And of course, the gas prices — just adding up. It's like a pancake tower, and you're just reaching the top. And this is not a tower you want to climb," said Enten.
In that case, Trump is at 76 percent disapproval on his handling of fuel prices. Biden's was 72 percent. The average price per gallon under Biden topped out at $5, the Palm Beach Post said, citing AAA data. Trump's average is currently at $4.06. USA Today said that, adjusted for inflation, the July 2008 gas prices would be equivalent to about $5.25.