CNN pollsters said Friday that although former President Trump is less popular than his opponent, he is more popular at this stage of the campaign than he was when he won the 2016 election.
Vice President Kamala Harris and President Trump have been in a very close race in recent weeks, with both candidates facing a media onslaught from podcasts to town hall appearances.
Harry Enten, CNN's senior political data correspondent, highlighted that while Trump is on the rise, there are significant differences that indicate his honeymoon with Harris may be over.
“I think there are a lot of people like me who think Trump's unpopularity is deep-rooted, and this settles it,” said a data official at the network. “If you think Donald Trump's popularity has somehow declined over time, let me change your mind. In fact, at this point in the campaign, it's more popular than it was in the 2020 campaign or the 2016 campaign. Very popular.”
CNN data guru Harry Enten noted a major shift in popularity during the election period. (CNN)
Enten acknowledged that President Trump's net favorability rating was ultimately -9 points and “still below the surface,” but the fact that it is higher than it was in 2020 and much higher than it was in 2016. should cause obvious concern for the Harris camp.
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“I think there's a real question in the minds of Kamala Harris and her campaign: 'Why is Mr. Trump more popular now than he was in 2020 or 2016?'” he asked, then added that “Why are these numbers like this happening?” he said. “A sharper attack” from the Harris camp.
“Kamala Harris's popularity is higher than Donald Trump's, but Kamala Harris was once on the rise in popularity and of course became the presumptive Democratic nominee,” he recalled. “But she collapsed again.”
According to one poll, her favorability rating went from +1 in September to -1 in October.
The honeymoon period appears to be over for the Harris campaign. (AP/Jacqueline Martin)
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“I think Kamala Harris' momentum has stalled and they feel like they have to change what's going on in their campaign, because they were on the upswing. Because right now it's stalled,” Enten said. “She's still more popular than Trump, but look, Joe Biden was much more popular than Trump but barely won, and Hillary Clinton was more popular than Donald Trump but lost.” It's not enough to be more popular than Trump.
Mr. Enten emphasized his point by suggesting, “She wants to continue seeing him.” [favorability numbers] It's going up, but it's actually going in the wrong direction. ”
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