Americans' trust in Republicans surges as Dems fumble on immigration, border security: Harry Enten

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Americans are increasingly placing their trust in Republicans over Democrats on immigration and border security, according to CNN data analyst Harry Enten.

Breaking down the numbers on Thursday, February 26, Enten said recent polling shows Democrats are in a weaker position now than they were during President Donald Trump’s first term.

He added that the assumption that Democrats could capitalize on recent unrest and immigration debates “actually doesn't bear itself out in the polling.”

Harry Enten says Democrats in 'worse position'

Enten pointed to comparative data from 2018, when Democrats held a six-point advantage over Republicans on which party voters trusted more to handle immigration. 

“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,” Enten said.

“In fact, Democrats are in worse position than they were during Donald Trump’s first term.”

On border security specifically, Enten highlighted an even larger Republican advantage.

In 2018, Republicans led by 13 points on the issue. “If anything, the advantage is a little bit larger now,” he said, citing a current 15-point GOP edge.

“When you put immigration with border security, this is actually an issue that Republicans should be more comfortable running on than Democrats.”

Enten also compared Trump’s current immigration approval numbers with those of former President Joe Biden at a similar point in his presidency. 

“Biden was at just 34%,” Enten said, while Trump stands at 45%. “You can't just look at something in isolation. You have to compare it to the alternative.”

CNN Poll shows post-SOTU boost for Trump

Separate CNN polling discussed by CNN Political Director David Chalian with a panel that included anchor Kaitlan Collins showed a measurable boost for Trump following a recent SOTU address.

“Look at the growth President Trump made over the speech,” Chalian said.

“Pre-speech, 54% said his policies would move the US in the right direction. After the speech, that number goes up 10% to 64%.”

“So Trump made progress with people watching the speech. Two thirds walked away thinking he’s moving us in the right direction,” he added.

Chalian noted the potential electoral implications saying “If you’re a Republican on the ballot in 2026, I think you leave this speech being as happy as you could possibly be. He stuck to the script on the economy, gave red meat to the base on immigration, and they can take that out on the campaign trail.”