CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten said on Monday that President Donald Trump’s approval rating on the issue of immigration has skyrocketed among the American electorate.
Trump’s current net approval rating is above water at +1 point, which surged by 20 points since June 2017, Enten said, citing his own aggregate data. Trump on Saturday deployed the National Guard to combat riots that erupted across Los Angeles stemming from ICE arrests of illegal immigrants.
“[Trump’s net approval rating] has gone up like a rocket,” Enten said. “Compare now versus eight years ago during Trump’s first term. Look at this, in his first term, Trump was way, way, way underwater at -21 points. But look at this, he’s up [by] over 20 points now in the aggregate, he is in positive territory at +1 point on his net approval rating. Some other polls even have it a little higher than that.”
“There is no issue on which Trump is doing so much better than he was in his first term more than the issue of immigration,” Enten continued. (RELATED: Tom Homan Accuses NBC News Of Publishing ‘Dishonest’ Report About Him Threatening To Arrest Gavin Newsom)
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A majority of Americans, 54% and 51%, approve of Trump’s mass deportations and of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents searching their communities to locate illegal immigrants, a CBS News poll released on Monday found. Enten added that a majority of Americans who are “directly connected” to the events going on in Los Angeles, California, approve of Trump’s actions to combat illegal immigration.
“It’s not just on the broad issue of immigration where Trump is doing well, it’s on the specifics. When you dive in on the issues, Trump is above 50% and his actions are above 50%, at least it comes to those most directly connected to what’s going on right now out in Los Angeles,” Enten said.
Widespread riots broke out in Los Angeles on Friday in response to the arrests of at least 44 illegal immigrants by ICE agents. The arrested illegal immigrants were convicted of heinous crimes, including second degree murder, grand theft larceny, assault with intent to commit rape and assault with a deadly weapon, according to the The Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Rioters in Los Angeles burned cars, threw Molotov cocktails, fireworks, rocks and vandalized property with slogans like “KILL ICE.” Trump deployed 2,000 National Guard soldiers to Los Angeles, which sparked angry reactions from both Newsom and Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
Americans believe that Democrats just “don’t have a clue” regarding the issue of immigration, Enten said. An Ipsos poll found that Republicans hold a 19-point lead among Democrats on the question of who voters trust more on immigration, while CNN and CBS News found that the party is leading on the issue by six points.
“No matter what poll you look at, no matter which way you cut it, the American public is with the Republicans [and] the American public is with Donald Trump and to a much greater extent than they were in term number one,” Enten said. “And it’s not just on the broad issue of immigration, but it’s on the specifics as well, in which the American public is with Donald Trump and the Republicans.”
Border czar Tom Homan said the ICE raids in Los Angeles will continue and that any government official who obstructs federal officials’ operations will be prosecuted. Trump hinted to reporters on Monday that he “would” arrest Newsom if he were Homan, calling him a “nice guy” who is “grossly incompetent.”
Immigration was among one of the top issues for American voters ahead of the 2024 election, in which voters favored Trump over former Vice President Kamala Harris. The president became the first Republican nominee in 20 years to win the popular vote and the first to win the Hispanic male vote.
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