CNN data analyst Harry Enten has said that the government shutdown is having no impact on President Trump’s overall approval rating.
As the government shutdown enters its third week, Democrats and their media allies have been hoping that the situation would be damaging Trump’s popularity.
Yet this does not appear to be the case, with his approval rating actually up a point.
“This shutdown hasn’t eaten into Donald Trump’s support at all,” Enten said. “His net approval rating is actually up a point in terms of his popular support.
“So the bottom line is this, the first shutdown during Trump’s first term 2018 and 2019 was hurting Donald Trump. This one is not hurting him at all.
“There’s no real reason Donald Trump might say, at least when it comes to popular support, ‘I want to get out of this shutdown.’”
Enten continued:
It comes down to the blame game. A game I loved to play when I was younger. Blame Trump for the shutdown a great deal in 2018 slash 2019, 61% more than three and five Americans blame Trump a great deal for that particular shutdown.
You come over to this side of the screen. Look at this. It’s a different world. It’s a different world. 48% of Americans blame Trump a great deal for this particular shutdown.
So it’s more than three and five back in 2018 slash 2019. It’s less than half a drop of 13 points. Again, it’s no real wonder that Donald Trump at this point looking at the shutdown says, you know.
It’s not actually harming me politically in large part because he’s getting less of the blame and he’s doing things differently during this shutdown.
Watch the clip below:
This shutdown is a different world for Trump than the 2018-19 shutdown. He’s in a much better spot.
His net approval is up slightly during this shutdown vs. dropping during 2018-19.
Why? The % who blame him a great deal for the shutdown is down significantly now vs. 2018-19. pic.twitter.com/WHEqHaqo4M
— (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) October 20, 2025
The principal reason for the shutodwn stems from the Democratic Party’s refusal to accept meaningful spending cuts aimed at bringing down the ballooning budget deficit.
The situation means that many essential workers, including border patrol, air traffic controllers, federal firefighters, FBI agents and TSA screeners, have not been paid their salaries since it began.
20 DAYS UNPAID: The government shutdown is dragging on with no end in sight.
Hundreds of thousands of essential workers continue keeping the country running—without pay. pic.twitter.com/1gcVOqbE3d
— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 20, 2025