Harry Enten says recent polls show President Trump is deeply unpopular on healthcare: an AP-NORC survey finds 29% approve and 69% disapprove of his handling of the issue. Other polls, including Fox News, Marquette Law School and KFF, show strong public support for extending ACA premium tax credits and widespread willingness to blame the GOP if they lapse. Even sizable shares of Republicans back extending the subsidies, suggesting the issue fractures the Republican base.
Polls Paint Dire Picture for Trump on Healthcare: 29% Approve, 69% Disapprove
Donald Trump has wanted to scrap Obamacare for years, without ever putting forward a genuine alternative. / Alex Wong/Getty Images
President Donald Trump is facing sharply negative public opinion on healthcare, according to a roundup of recent polls reviewed by CNN senior data analyst Harry Enten. The data show broad opposition to Republican handling of the issue and strong public support for extending Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits.
Enten highlighted three surveys that together create an unfavorable portrait for Trump and the GOP as enhanced ACA premium tax credits approach expiration.
AP-NORC: A recent AP-NORC poll recorded just 29% approval for Trump on healthcare and 69% disapproval. Enten emphasized the gap: "Disapprove more than double, 69 percent—40 points higher than the approval. That is gosh darn awful, it’s horrendous." He also noted that 39% of Republicans in that poll say they disapprove of Trump’s handling of healthcare.
'When roughly two-fifths of the Republican base say they disapprove of Trump on a particular issue, that signals broader public opposition,' Enten said. 'The bottom line is, Americans very much dislike Donald Trump on healthcare.'
Other Polls: Enten pointed out that the AP-NORC finding is consistent with a Fox News poll showing Trump's healthcare approval below 35 percent, reinforcing a clear negative trend.
Polls show Americans do not believe Trump and the GOP’s spin that the Democrats will be to blame if healthcare subsidies expire. / Screengrab/CNN
Marquette Law School: A November Marquette poll found that 70% of Americans want ACA premium tax credits extended, while just 30% favor letting them expire. Enten noted the political implications: even 45% of Republicans supported extending the subsidies, suggesting the issue unites Democrats and fractures Republican voters.
KFF: A recent Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) survey found that if the subsidies expire, 63% of Americans would blame Trump or the GOP, compared with only 19% who would blame Democrats. "The polling is rarely ever this clear," Enten said. "This is an issue that hurts Republicans and very much helps Democrats."
Context: The expiration of these subsidies — which could cause premiums to spike for tens of millions of Americans — helped trigger the 43-day government shutdown earlier this year. That shutdown ended after negotiators reached a funding deal that left open the possibility of a vote on extending the subsidies. Despite that, the Senate rejected both Republican and Democratic bills to extend the tax credits, making an expiration likely unless action is taken.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
