CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten said on Friday morning he was shocked when seeing how much the American public believes the Republican Party cares about them, even in the wake of President Donald Trump’s tariff salvo.
During “CNN News Central,” Enten pulled up new aggregate poll numbers showing that Americans currently believe that Republicans care about U.S. citizens as much as Democratic Party figures do, a poll that has historically favored the Democrats.
“This, to me, is one of the most shocking pieces of poll data that I truly, truthfully have seen this year, or maybe in any prior year,” he said, noting elsewhere how unexpected these numbers are after Trump unveiled his controversial tariffs earlier this month.
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Enten displayed poll numbers showing that in the three previous decades, the Democratic Party smashed the GOP in the category of which party is believed to care more about Americans. In 1994, the party had a +19 majority over the GOP; in 2005, a+23; and in 2017, a +13.
The post-tariffs numbers in that category – taken from a Quinnipiac poll – showed a tie between the two parties.
“And why is that so surprising? Because I want you to take a look at prior years – Democrats always lead on this question,” Enten said.
“And now all of a sudden, a tie?,” he continued. “All of a sudden, the Democrats, who were the party of the people. No more! No more! We get a tie on this question, on a question that has traditionally overwhelmingly been a Democratic advantage… It‘s truly something I would not have expected to see, especially after this tariff war had begun.”
Anchor Kate Bolduan asked the data reporter with which demographic group the Republican Party has been making the most gains. Enten moved to a new graph which showed polling done on college-educated and non-college-educated voters in 2017 and today.
“Among those with a college degree, it’s the same score – plus 18 points for Democrats in 2017, plus 18 points for Democrats now. But look among non-college voters. Look here. It was plus seven for Democrats in 2017. And now Republicans have overwhelmingly gained plus nine points.”
Enten stated that the pro-GOP swing represented the party’s gains among the “working class.”
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Bolduan then asked Enten to show any current numbers indicating whether one party has an advantage over the other if the 2026 midterm elections were held today. The data guru revealed that at this time in 2017, the Democratic Party had a plus seven advantage in that category, while today, it only has a plus one.
“If Democrats think they automatically have a ticket back to control of the House, I‘d say hold on a second. Republicans still have a real shot at this, despite all of Trump‘s theatrics over the last month with this tariff war,” he said.
