00:03As the government shutdown drags on, new polling suggests that President Donald Trump is weathering
00:08the political fallout far better than the Democrats compared to how each party was perceived
00:13during the 2018-2019 shutdown — the last during a Trump presidency.
00:19CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten told host John Berman that recent APNORC numbers reveal
00:25a stark contrast between Trump's performance then and now.
00:29Shutdowns are different the second time around when it comes to Donald Trump, Enten said.
00:34While the 2018-19 shutdown caused Trump's approval rating to slide, this time, Enten noted,
00:40his standing has actually improved.
00:43In 2018-2019, Donald Trump's approval rating was already falling.
00:48The shutdown was eating into his popular support, he explained.
00:52It was down three points already at this particular point and would fall considerably more.
00:56By comparison, Enten said, this shutdown hasn't eaten into Donald Trump's support at all.
01:01His net approval rating is actually up a point.
01:03A key factor, he explained, is who voters hold responsible.
01:08During the last shutdown, 61% of Americans said they blamed Trump a great deal.
01:13That number has now dropped to 48%, a 13-point decline.
01:18It's a different world, Enten said.
01:20It's no real wonder that Donald Trump at this point, looking at the shutdown, says,
01:26You know what? It's not actually harming me politically, in large part because he's getting less of the blame.
01:32The data underscores a shifting political environment, one where Trump's base remains solid and the broader electorate is more divided over accountability.
01:41Congressional Democrats are standing firm as the shutdown continues, even as a looming cutoff in federal food aid threatens more than 40 million Americans.
01:50Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have vowed not to back reopening the government without securing health care concessions.
01:58Democrats are also intensifying criticism of Trump for his decision to take a second foreign trip during the shutdown rather than negotiate.
02:06This is all Trump, said Senator Peter Welch.
02:10Trump's not engaged. Republicans won't negotiate, he added, calling the president's trip to Asia an indication of how he could care less.
02:18Senator Mark Warner echoed the outrage, saying,
02:21The message is, frankly, President Trump, stay in America. Put America first. Sit down with us and work this out.
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