President Donald Trump wants a fight over immigration—and he’s getting one.
According to CNN’s Chief Data Analyst Harry Enten, Trump is pushing this issue hard because it’s suddenly working in his favor.
“Trump is begging for a fight on this because he knows what he’s doing so far is working with the American electorate,” Enten said.
For years, immigration was one of Trump’s biggest political weaknesses. But not anymore.
“This is Trump’s net approval rating on immigration,” Enten explained. “It’s gone up like a rocket now versus eight years ago during Trump’s first term.”
Back then, voters didn’t trust him. “Look at this, in his first term, Trump was way, way, way underwater at -21 points,” Enten pointed out.
Now? “He’s up over 20 points now in the aggregate. He is in positive territory at plus one point on his net approval rating.”
In short, immigration has flipped from a political liability to a potential weapon for Trump—and he’s ready to use it.
“So Donald Trump, the president, picking a fight on this,” CNN anchor John Berman said. “And to an extent, you see Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, a Democrat, and the California governor, Gavin Newsom, pushing back.”
But that pushback might not be enough.
“The American electorate believed that the Democrats don’t have a clue on the issue of immigration,” Enten responded.
He backed it up with numbers. “You could just take it here closer to trust more on immigration, Democrats versus Republicans, got three different polls for you across the board. They all tell the same story: Republicans lead on the issue of immigration.”
Enten made it clear: “No matter what poll you look at, no matter which way you cut it, the American public is with the Republicans, the American public is with Donald Trump, and to a much greater extent than they were in term number one.”
That’s why Trump is zeroing in on the chaos at the border and cities like Los Angeles.
Enten summed it up: “Donald Trump is eager to take on this fight and eager for those scenes out of Los Angeles.”
Watch the segment below from CNN.
