CNN senior data analyst Harry Enten highlighted a series of striking statistics from the network’s latest polls—alongside data released by the Trump administration—to support his conclusion that President Donald Trump ranks among the most “influential” leaders in American history.
“And I think the theme of this segment is going to be love it, like it, lump it, Trump’s remaking the United States of America,” Enten said during Sunday’s broadcast of “CNN News Central.” [see video below]
He began by referencing President Trump’s tariff strategy, which was fully implemented on August 1. The Trump administration has already brokered trade agreements with key economic allies—including the United Kingdom, Japan, and the European Union—while countries that have not reached a deal are now subject to the tariff rates outlined in the president’s “Liberation Day” plan announced in April.
The agreements have brought trillions of dollars into the U.S. economy—especially in the energy and defense sectors—while also generating record-high tariff revenue. Enten highlighted that the current effective tariff rate stands at 18 percent, the highest level since the 1930s, a sharp increase from just 2 percent the year prior.
“As I’m going to talk about in this segment, I can’t think of a more influential president during this century. And it starts here with tariffs,” the data analyst said. “He said he was going to raise tariffs. And despite the claims otherwise, he is in fact doing that. The effective tariff rate at this point looks to be nine times as high as it was last year, the highest since the 1930s.”
Enten emphasized that tariffs are just one part of President Trump’s broader strategy as he continues his effort “remaking” America.
“What are we talking about? Well, let’s jump. The other big thing that Trump ran on, right, was immigration. How about net migration in the United States? Get this, it’s down. It’s gonna be down at least 60 percent. We may be dealing with, get this, negative net migration to the United States in 2025,” he continued. “That would be the first time there is negative net migration in this country in at least 50 years. We’re talking about down from 2.8 million in 2024.”
“So Donald Trump has always run on tariffs and he’s running a hawkish line on immigration. And on both of those issues, we are seeing record high tariff rates for this century going all the way back, well back into the early part of the 20th century,” Enten continued. “And when it comes to immigration, net migration, we are seeing record low levels, way down from where we were during the Biden administration.”
Enten once again reiterated that given the data, it is undeniable that Trump is, in his mind, “the most influential president, certainly this century and probably dating a good back chunk into the 20th century as well.”
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