CNN’s Harry Enten Says GOP’s Approval Rating Has Skyrocketed During Gov’t Shutdown

CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten said on Tuesday that the Republican Party’s approval has skyrocketed among the American public during the government shutdown.

The approval rating for the Republican Party overall rose by 2 points, and it jumped up by 5 for Republicans in Congress, Enten said, citing an AP-NORC poll. The net approval for congressional Republicans soared by 12 points among Republican voters and by 8 points among independents since the shutdown began.

“When we’re looking at the Republican Party overall, that brand, actually up two points,” Enten said. “That’s within the margin of error, but clearly it hasn’t dropped. Come over to this side of the screen, look at the net approval ratings for Republicans in Congress. It’s actually up five points since pre-shutdown. So what we’re seeing here is the Republican brand in Congress has actually improved somewhat compared to when we were pre-shutdown, despite the fact that Republicans control.”

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All but three Democrats voted for the shutdown on Oct. 1 because the Republicans’ continuing resolution (CR) did not include Biden-era subsidies in the Affordable Care Act in exchange for their support. House Speaker Mike Johnson argued that the topic of expanding these tax credits can be discussed once the government is funded.

Independent voters appear to be siding with Republicans throughout the shutdown.

“So we’ve got a situation here where Republicans with the shutdown are actually rallying their base, but it’s also something that’s not hurting them with the folks in the middle,” Enten continued. “If anything, it’s helping them with folks in the middle … What we’re seeing is the Republican brand has actually gotten better among independents. And it’s also gotten better among Republicans as well, that Republican brand when it comes to those in Congress.”

Democrats have accused Republicans of keeping the government shutdown because they are refusing to negotiate in good faith while they take away healthcare from millions of Americans. Democratic Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and independent Sen. Angus King, who caucuses with Democrats, voted to keep the government open.

President Donald Trump’s approval rating has also seen favorable results during the shutdown. Within 20 days, his net approval stood at +1 point and less than a majority blamed him for the shutdown.

Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance stated that Schumer is caving to the far-left wing of his party because he is afraid of a primary face-off with Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Both AOC and independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders lashed out at CNN’s Kaitlan Collins when she asked if the far-left congresswoman was planning on challenging Schumer for his seat.