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‘Two Thumbs Up’: CNN’s Harry Enten Says ‘Americans Are In Love’ With Trump’s Transition Moves

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CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten broke down Americans’ historically high optimism and approval for President-elect Donald Trump throughout his transition period during a Monday segment.

A CBS News/YouGov poll found on Sunday that Americans have high hopes about Trump’s upcoming second term, with 59% of voters approving of how the president-elect is handling his transition of power and 50% believing America’s best days are ahead. The president-elect’s net approval rating jumped from +1 points to its current +18 points since his first transition in November 2016, indicating that Americans are “in love” with the new transition and are willing to give Trump the “benefit of the doubt,” Enten said.

“You go back to November 2016, look at this, he was just at +1 point. That’s well, well, well below the historical norm. Look where we are today, significantly higher, +18 points,” Enten said. “That’s 17 points higher on the presidential transition net approval rating. The bottom line is this, if 8 years ago people were lukewarm on Donald Trump, at this particular point they’re giving him much more of the benefit of the doubt and a lot more Americans are in love with this transition. This is much more [what] meets the historical norms where normal presidents get a boost coming out of that victory and what we’re seeing here is Donald Trump’s presidential transition is getting a thumbs up, and dare I say two thumbs up from the American people.”

Americans are more optimistic about Trump’s upcoming presidency in comparison to 2016, Enten said. In December 2016, 46% of Americans were “optimistic” and/or “excited” about the future while 53% were “concerned,” but those numbers have since flipped in the present day.

“Look at where we are now, the shoe is on the other foot,” Enten continued. “53% of Americans are excited or optimistic, it’s flip-flopped, where a narrow majority 8 years ago were scared or concerned about the upcoming Trump term, now what we see is the majority is excited or optimistic about the Trump term. So what we’re seeing are very different numbers from where we were eight years ago. Eight years ago, folks really were not that in love with the Trump transition, now they are and more than that, looking forward to the upcoming Trump term. Eight years ago, the majority were scared or concerned, now the majority is excited or optimistic.”

Enten further pointed out that a majority of Democrats (56%) said they either are not motivated to oppose Trump or support him, while 44% said they are ready to outwardly “oppose” the president-elect. These numbers indicate that Democrats appear “exhausted” from fighting against Trump and have become less motivated to stand in his opposition since 2016.

The American peoples’ response to the Trump transition period stands in stark contrast with the rhetoric coming from the corporate media and President Joe Biden’s administration, who continuously warned that Trump is a threat to democracy, a fascist and even compared him to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. Vice President Kamala Harris and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre both stated that Trump is a “fascist” just two weeks before the 2024 election, while Biden had repeatedly suggested ahead of the election that Trump is an “extreme threat to democracy.”

MSNBC host Joe Scarborough accused Trump of being the single biggest “threat to democracy since the Civil War” and compared him to Hitler during a Sept. 23 segment, while one of their guests Claire McCaskill claimed he is “more dangerous than Hitler” during a Nov. 22, 2023, segment of the program. MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle argued that American voters are well aware that Trump posed a threat to democracy during a Sept. 21 segment of HBO’s “Real Times with Bill Maher.”