CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten said Thursday that voters still trust President Donald Trump and the Republican Party more than Democrats on immigration and border security, arguing that Democrats have not gained ground even after a year of major developments tied to immigration.
Speaking with CNN anchor John Berman, Enten framed his analysis around whether Democrats had been able to "take advantage" on immigration in polling "after all the events in Los Angeles, after all the events in Minneapolis, after all the events of the last year on immigration."
"In 2018, Democrats had an edge of about 6 points," Enten said, while displaying figures on the studio screen.
"Now look at that. Republicans are the ones who actually have an edge on immigration," he continued.
"So this whole idea that Democrats are going to be able to take advantage of the immigration issue actually doesn't bear itself out in the polling despite everything that's been going on," Enten said.
"In fact, Democrats are in a worse position than they were during Donald Trump's first term. They think Democrats will do a worse job on immigration than Republicans."
Enten also pointed to border security polling, saying he compared 2018 midterm-era attitudes with current measures. He said Republicans were up 13 points in 2018 and had increased that advantage to 15 points.
Enten compared immigration approval for Trump with that of former President Joe Biden at the same point in their presidencies.
"At this point in his presidency, Biden was at just 34%. Donald Trump looks a whole heck of a lot better when you compare him to the alternative at 45%," Enten said.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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