‘Republicans Have Taken Over X’: CNN Data Guru Breaks Down ‘Monumental Shift’ of Platform

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CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten on Tuesday explained how Republicans have “taken over” X/Twitter since the platform was bought by Elon Musk.

During a Tuesday morning segment on CNN, Enten took a closer look at social media users and the ways in which they consume the news. According to a Pew Research Center poll from 2021, 45% of Republicans claimed they used social media for news compared to 52% of Democrats. In 2025, that Republican number shot up to 55%. Democrats, on the other hand, stayed at 52%.

With X specifically, Republicans saw a massive increase. Enten continued:

I think there are a lot of folks who have been on Twitter and may have realized, “Wait a minute, there seem to be a lot more Republicans in my feed” — especially since Elon Musk took over — and, oh my goodness gracious, what a tremendous monumental shift on the regular news consumers on Twitter/X!

You go back to 2021, the party ID margin. Democrats were 37 points more likely — or 37 points more likely to be a Democrat on Twitter or X than a Republican. Jump ahead to this side of the screen. It’s completely changed around! Oh my goodness gracious! Now it’s a 14-point lead for Republicans on Twitter/X. We’re talking about a 51-point shift in the margin!

And [CNN anchor John Berman] and I were talking about it just before. You can see it with your own eyes. This is polling reflecting what you’re seeing in the social media real world, where all of a sudden, John, you just see a lot, a lot more Republicans in your feed.

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