CNN Data Guru Says ‘Donald Trump Has Lost the Trust of the American People on Immigration’

CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten declared President Donald Trump has lost the “trust” of the American people on immigration, showing a massive flip in public opinion.

Enten joined anchor John Berman on Tuesday and broke down how Trump’s numbers on immigration, an issue central to both of his campaigns, have changed amid recent ICE shootings.

Trump, Enten argued, is facing a “very different picture” on immigration compared to his first term.

According to survey data from Pew Research, Trump’s numbers from November 2024 show a different landscape than his numbers now. In 2024, 46% said they don’t “trust” Trump on immigration and 53% said they do. Today, 58% say they don’t trust him and 41% say they do.

Enten reported:

Trust on immigration. This was one of the pillars of Donald Trump’s first campaign back in 2016, winning that Republican primary. He had a massive advantage in terms of, you know, immigration, trusting Trump on immigration back in November of 2024 when he won that second term. 53% of Americans said yes. Just 46% said no.

Look at this number now. Again, a massive change in the court of public opinion. Now, 58% of American say no, they do not, in fact, trust Trump on immigration. Just 41% say yes. So what we’re seeing with ICE is finding its way to the Trump administration at large to Trump at large. No longer is this pillar of Donald Trump support something he can count on anymore. The American people have simply lost the trust — or Donald Trump has lost the trust of the American people on immigration.

An ICE officer fatally shot 26-year-old Joan Sebastian Guerrero in Maine during a traffic stop this week. That shooting followed Mexican immigrant Lorenzo Salgado Araujo being shot and killed in Houston, Texas.

Enten noted ICE’s approval has also suffered recently as mass deportation efforts have been expanded.

According to numbers from Pew and Mulaw, ICE’s net favorability in July 2028 was plus one among all voters and minus three among independents. Today, the net favorability sits at negative 20 among all voters and negative 42 among independents.

“This is just a real sign that the voters and independents are seeing what’s happening on the ground and the actions of ICE are having consequences in the court of public opinion, especially among independents,” Enten said.

Watch above via CNN.

Jason Cohen contributed to this report. 

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!