While his fanatical MAGA base continues to call for more arrests and deportations of immigrants on the streets of U.S. cities, the issue is quickly becoming a problem for Donald Trump, according to new polling that shows his “core issue” is no longer a strength for him.
CNN data analyst Harry Enten examined the new data this morning, warning, “I think we can say that Donald Trump has lost the political battle when it comes to what has happened out in Los Angeles,” Enten said. “Donald Trump’s net approval rating on the Los Angeles protest, look at this – overall way, way, way underwater at minus-15 points. How about among independents or those who don’t identify with either major party? Even lower, look at that – minus-24 points on the net approval rating and, of course, this is happening on what should be one of Donald Trump’s, in fact, the best issue for Donald Trump, immigration, and yet, when it comes to these Los Angeles protests, 15 points underwater overall and 24 points underwater among independents, no good.”
Even more troubling for the administration is that recent polls show most Americans think Trump has gone too far with his draconian immigration crackdown.
“Let’s widen it out a little bit, and I think this sort of paints a picture for you,” Enten said, “and understanding why Donald Trump’s approval rating on the Los Angeles protests are as low as they are. Take a look, Trump and immigrant arrests – he’s gone too far, that’s the winner here: 49 percent. Not too far, only 40 percent. so you got a nine-point lead here, and again, among those independents or other categories, you see 51 percent of them say Trump’s gone too far, and what’s so important to note is that this poll was taken after after the Los Angeles protests started, so this takes into account everything that’s gone down in Los Angeles at this particular point.”
“If the protesters’ idea was to focus the attention on Donald Trump and bring attention to his immigration policies and bring attention to the arrests that have been occurring of immigrants,” he added, “it seems to me that those protests have been successful, because you see here, 49 percent say Trump’s gone too far when it comes to the immigrants, compared to just 40 percent who say he’s not gone too far. And you don’t have to be a mathematical genius to know 49 percent is larger than 40 percent.”
Additionally, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is also viewed negatively by those surveyed.
“More ICE raids at workplaces, at these workplaces were immigrants, perhaps are here illegally, are working,” Enten explained. “Look, 45 percent approve but, again, what’s the winner here – 54 percent, 54 percent disapprove of the idea of more ICE arrests, and this again goes to what these protests were all about in the first place, these ICE arrests at work, and it does seem again, that the American people are with the protesters on this. You see here the majority saying that they disapprove of more ICE raids at workplaces, and I think it’s so important to note ICE, historically, actually been rated fairly favorably, but their favorable ratings have been going down as these raids have been going up. “
“This is his core issue,” Enten added, “and he’s losing on his core issue at this point. Again, he is losing in these protests.”
In what would be the ultimate irony, Trump could destroy his second term with the issue that helped him get elected, proving that he doesn’t understand a damn thing about what voters actually want and is too damn obstinate to moderate his policies.
