CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten expressed amazement at how dramatically Democrats’ views of Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head Elon Musk have shifted since 2017.
Musk has faced intense backlash from Democrats since his purchase of Twitter, endorsement of President Donald Trump in 2024 and his role in the administration. Enten, on “CNN News Central,” noted Musk’s net favorability among Democrats went from being overwhelmingly positive to even more overwhelmingly negative in 2025, citing Ipsos data.
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“I have rarely ever seen any change of perception as dramatic as this one. I mean, Elon Musk’s net favorable rating. It’s dropped from plus 24 to minus 19 overall from 2017 to 2025,” Enten said. “And look at among Democrats. He used to be beloved by Democrats at plus 35. Look where it is now. Minus 91 points on the net favorable rating. That is a movement of over 120 points in the negative direction, falling through the floor.”
“Now, among Republicans, he has gone up from plus 18 to 51. But that doesn’t at all make up for the gap that the Democrats have completely fallen off the rails for Elon Musk,” he continued. “And among independents the drop has been from plus 17 to minus 17. Look, Donald Trump isn’t the most popular president in the world, but he is far more popular than Elon Musk is.”
Democratic lawmakers have protested against Musk and Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has launched an anti-oligarchy tour featuring Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez targeting the DOGE head.
“In the past I voted Democrat, because they were (mostly) the kindness party,” Musk posted on X in May 2022, while he was still in the process of purchasing Twitter. “But they have become the party of division & hate, so I can no longer support them and will vote Republican. Now, watch their dirty tricks campaign against me unfold.”
Former President Joe Biden encouraged investigations into Musk soon after he took over X in October 2022. His companies X, Tesla and SpaceX all subsequently faced investigations from the Biden administration.
Musk unbanned many accounts after taking over the platform and facilitated journalists publishing “The Twitter Files,” which were internal company documents that exposed prior censorship, including emails pertaining to the decision to suppress the Hunter Biden laptop story in 2020. Musk’s DOGE has made many government reductions, including substantially cutting the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
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