"I think sometimes it's important to do a little bit of a reality check," CNN political data guru Harry Enten began his on-air report yesterday. "All we talk about is how unpopular Donald Trump is, but in reality, he's basically more popular than he was at any point in term number one -- and more popular than he was when he won [the] election back in November 2024." Enten noted the importance of this fact, in light of the reality that "Donald Trump, historically speaking, has had his numbers underestimated." He also pointed out the "very high percentage," relatively speaking, of Americans who now say the country is on the right track. "The bottom line is, the percentage of Americans who say we're on the right track is through the roof." What about Congress? Enten highlights how NBC's latest survey gives the Democrats a 'generic ballot' lead of one percentage point, which is an identical number to what their polling series showed just before the November 2024 election. What happened once the votes were tabulated? Republicans won the nationwide House 'popular' vote by roughly four million ballots and nearly three percentage points.
The latest finding "looks a lot more like 2022 or 2024, when Republicans won control of Congress," he said. "The generic Congressional ballot looks a heck of a lot more like when Republicans win than when Democrats win:"
We need a "reality check"... Right track % in the U.S. is "through the roof!" Highest since 04 per NBC & 2nd highest since 09 per Marist.
— (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) March 25, 2025
Trump is more popular now in his net favorable than any time in term 1 or when he won in 2024.
Generic ballot looks like when GOP wins. pic.twitter.com/iDh0XEt1qK
This isn't exactly sizzling stuff for Trump or the GOP, and certainly the big 'honeymoon' boost Trump got after his victory has dissipated -- but the media narrative that Trump is getting slammed with unpopularity, and Democrats are finally fired up and ramping up an effective opposition, feels more like wish-casting than a reflection of how Americans are actually feeling. Voters see an extreme and unserious Democratic Party, exemplified by their nasty performance at Trump's Congressional address. And some of the Resistance's loudest voices are about as off-putting as one could possibly imagine:
When Texas Governor Greg Abbott was 26, he was paralyzed from the waist down. Rather than give up, he spent his life in public service to this nation—from his wheelchair. I am gobsmacked that a Congressmember would mock his disability, at a Human Rights Campaign event no less. https://t.co/fbZgGbzSpl
— Batya Ungar-Sargon (@bungarsargon) March 25, 2025
Meanwhile, the Trump-Republican coaltion is pulling together disparate elements that would have been unthinkable even a few election cycles ago. While Democrats are raging and purging internally, things like this are happening elsewhere:
Liberal comedian Bill Maher will soon be meeting President Donald Trump at the White House, Fox News Digital has learned. Maher revealed to fellow comedian Andrew Schulz that Maher agreed to Kid Rock’s offer to introduce him to his political foe, in an exchange that will air on Sunday’s installment of Maher’s “Club Random” podcast. “Kid Rock was here a couple of weeks ago, and he said, ‘I want you to meet Trump.’ He said, ‘I’m gonna take you to the White House.’ So now we’re gonna do that,” Maher told Schulz. Kid Rock was a guest on Maher’s HBO show “Real Time” last month and is a strong supporter of Trump...Maher has long been a fierce critic of Trump but has stood out among progressives with his criticism of so-called wokeism and calls to better understand Trump’s supporters. Maher predicted liberals on the left will be angry about meeting with Trump, but he didn’t care. “And there will be lots of people on the left who will be like, ‘How dare you talk to this man.’ It’s like f— you, I’m not playing this game that you mean girls play,” Maher said. “‘Oh, you know what? You can’t sit at my lunch table, because I’m just not talking to you.’ Not talking to you? You lost the election. Who the f— do you think you have to talk to?”
I'll leave you with my observations about this unusual summit, from Gutfeld:
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The year is 2011. Imagine someone telling you this would be a real thing. pic.twitter.com/ks3vZtOfXr
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) March 25, 2025
