The share of Americans who say the United States is "on the right track" is soaring, according to CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten, despite the fact that President Donald Trump's net favorability rating has dipped into negative territory.
Citing polls from Marist and NBC News, Enten said Tuesday that the percentage of Americans who say the country is headed in the right direction is "through the roof."
"It's actually a very high percentage when you compare it to some historical numbers," Enten said in comments highlighted by Mediaite. "What are we talking about? According to Marist, 45% say that we're on the right track. That's the second highest that Marist has measured since 2009. How about NBC News? 44%? That's the highest since 2004."
The data reporter argued that if Trump were eligible to serve a third White House term, the poll numbers would be a positive sign for his reelection campaign.
"If you were to compare it to when presidents have historically been reelected — of course Trump is not constitutionally eligible to run for reelection, but I think it sort of puts it in perspective — 42% of the country says the country is on the right track when the incumbent party is reelected," Enten said. "And also keep in mind, back when [then-Vice President] Kamala Harris lost and the Democrats were turned out of power, only about 27% to 28% of the country said the country was on the right track."
The CNN analyst also examined Trump's net favorability rating — which has slid into the negative zone, according to the surveys — and pointed out that polling firms have consistently "underestimated" the president's popularity since he began his first term.
"All we talk about is how unpopular Donald Trump is, but, in reality, he's basically more popular than he was at any point in term number one and more popular than he was when he won election back in November of 2024," Enten said. "What are we talking about? His net favorable rating right now comes in at -4 points. Compare that to where he was when he won in November of 2024, when he was at -7 points, or in March of 2017 when he was at -10 points.
"So when you compare Trump against himself, he's actually closer to the apex than he is to the bottom of the trough," he added. "And of course, that's so important because Donald Trump, historically speaking, has had his numbers underestimated."
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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