CNN Data Expert Gives a 'Reality Check' on Trump's Popularity, Saying He's Far More 'Admired' Than Reagan and Lincoln

CNN’s chief data analyst Harry Enten revealed that Republicans tend to favor Donald Trump far more than former presidents Ronald Reagan and Abraham Lincoln.

Enten joined news anchor John Berman for a segment on Wednesday, August 26. During their conversation, he noted, “This is a reality check for you. That is, Donald Trump is still the sun on which the planets of the GOP revolve around.”

“You could see it quite well here,” he said, pointing to a graph.

The data analyst also pointed out that Republican polls tend to paint a clear picture that depicts President Trump as far more “admired” by Republicans than former presidents from the same political sphere.

He also presented a graph from Elon University, which showed that 53 percent of Republicans voted for Trump as the president they admire the most. Reagan gained 18 percent of the votes, while Lincoln earned only 8 percent.

Berman joked that with Trump's constant concern about his popularity, the graph ranking him as one of the most admired Republican presidents would likely end up flattering his ego even more.

“I feel like this slide might end up on a printout on his desk sometime soon if he hasn’t seen it already,” he said.

During the segment, Enten also highlighted the current president's success rates in endorsing non-incumbent Republican candidates for Senate.

One of the most notable on that list is South Carolina’s Senator Darline Graham, who stepped in to fill in for her brother’s seat after Lindsey Graham’s death last month.

Per the expert, the president's success rate in endorsing Senate candidates who win their primary elections is 100 percent this year. In fact, looking as far back as 2022, his success rate still stands at 95 percent.

“I would say that this is probably the endorsement of Darline Graham, and getting her across the finish line in the Republican Party is probably the strongest sign of Donald Trump’s name being gold in Republican primaries to date,” he said.

“It’s by far his most impressive performance,” he added.

He also highlighted how Darline’s predicted chances of victory shot up to over 50 percent from the initial 14 percent projection, after the president’s endorsement.

This came as quite a surprise to many people, as per The Independent, Trump has consistently performed the worst in his career in polls for almost this entire year.

In fact, his approval ratings have seemingly dropped below zero in the newest poll by an independent monthly tracker, per the outlet.

It will be interesting to see what the midterms have in store for the president, but the contrasting pictures depicted in the media seem to suggest that there might be surprises waiting for everyone.