CNN Data Chief Spots Why Trump Is So Fixated On Talking About This Key Issue

Enten highlighted polling data showing how Trump’s net approval rating (percent approval minus percent disapproval) on crime has increased from -13 in March 2024 (in an analysis of his first term) to +1 this month.

The latter polling figure, he noted, doesn’t take into account the situation in the nation’s capital but does account for Trump federalizing the California National Guard to respond to mostly peaceful protests against his immigration agenda in Los Angeles.

Aside from federalizing the police force in Washington, Trump also deployed hundreds of National Guard troops to fight what he described as “bloodshed, bedlam and squalor and worse” (in reality, reported violent crime is down in the nation’s capital).

“I think that Democrats have to get it around their heads that Americans are far more hawkish on crime than they think that they are,” Enten told CNN’s Kate Bolduan.

He later continued, “Crime is one of Trump’s best issues. It’s one of the reasons why he wants to talk about crime, because it favors him.”

Enten went on to point out that Trump is “towering over” Joe Biden like “Air Jordan” on crime, with the president boasting a +1 net approval rating on the issue compared to his predecessor, who registered a -26 last year.

“It was one of Biden’s worst issues. Granted, pretty much every issue was one of Biden’s worst issues,” he added.

As the midterms approach next year, Enten noted that voters have continued to side with Republicans when asked which party aligns closer to their views on crime and policing.

“So Republicans in the House, Republicans in the Senate. They absolutely want to be talking about crime,” he said. “The more they feel that we’re talking about crime, the better they feel that the electoral landscape is for them.”