CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten said Friday that President Donald Trump is starting his second term with a significantly improved approval rating compared to his first administration.
Trump’s approval rating currently stands at 47%, with his disapproval rating at 41%, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found on Tuesday. Enten, on “CNN News Central,” said this marks a sharp contrast to his first term when he began with a negative net approval rating.
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“Look, the American people really like what they’re seeing, at least compared to where Donald Trump started eight years ago, right? All right, this is Donald Trump’s net approval rating,” Enten said. “This is Reuters/Ipsos, it’s among adults. It was taken the first few days of this administration. Look here. Back in January 2017, Donald Trump became the first president in history to start his presidency with a net negative approval rating.”
“Look at where we are now in January 2025, considerably better at plus six points. That’s up nine points. To borrow a Donald Trump phrase, this is big league,” he continued. “This is a sign that the American people, at least initially, like what they’re seeing. And so you see right here, more Americans approve of Donald Trump’s job than disapprove. And that is very much, very much unlike what we saw eight years ago.”
Enten further noted that this plus six net approval rating is Trump’s highest as president, surpassing his previous high of plus three during his first term.
“So Donald Trump isn’t just in a better position than he was eight years ago at this point. He’s in a better position than he was at any point during his entire first term. Things have very much turned around,” he asserted. “This is a very, very different Donald Trump. He’s leading a very different administration the way he’s attacking things. And the American public is very much more in line with him than they were at any point during his entire first term.”
Enten also highlighted a shift in public opinion on immigration on Wednesday, noting that 56% of adults now support deporting all illegal immigrants, a significant increase from 42% in 2015 and 36% in 2016.
“Feelings towards immigration in this country, feelings toward undocumented immigrants and deporting all of them have become considerably more hawkish and I think it gives Donald Trump much more leverage to go with the American people and sort of have these hawkish, some might say harsh, different rhetoric and issue-based of going after immigrants who are here illegally,” he said.
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