CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten said Wednesday that the trial of former President Donald Trump is not changing the minds of Americans.
Closing arguments took place Tuesday in Trump’s trial based on an indictment for 34 felony counts of falsifying business records secured by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, with New York Judge Juan Merchan giving jury instructions Wednesday. Enten said that despite the six-week trial, some of the poll numbers moved in Trump’s favor. (RELATED: ‘Making Up A Crime’: Andy McCarthy Says Bragg’s Team Failed To Prove Trump ‘Defrauded Anyone’)
“Let’s take a look here: ‘Think Trump did something illegal in the New York hush money case,’ I’ve been interested in whether or not these numbers would change at all during the course of this trial,” Enten told “CNN News Central” host John Berman. “Simply put, John, they have not. Pre-opening statements, think Trump did something illegal, 46%, after the direct examination of Michael Cohen by the prosecution, look at where we are now, 46%. The percentage of Americans who think that the charges are very serious in fact, dropped from 40% to a little bit more than 35% during the course of this trial. So, yes, perhaps things might have changed with those 12 jurors, but what comes to the larger American public, there has been no change, at least so far, John.”
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Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen and porn star Stormy Daniels were among the witnesses called by the prosecution.
“I think the question is, what’s exactly cooking here?” Enten said. “Why hasn’t there been much of a change? While folks like you and me, real news junkies, might be paying really close attention to what’s going on, the fact is that most Americans don’t really care that much.
“So closely following news about economy/inflation, that’s number one. It’s 65%,” Enten continued. “Look at immigration, 52%, election legitimacy, 49%, abortion, 47%, all the way down on this list of issues tested by the Ipsos Knowledge panel is Trump’s court cases at 42%, significantly less than economy and inflation. The fact is John, when we’re looking at these numbers, what we see is Americans minds aren’t changing, and a big reason why Americans’ minds aren’t changing is at this particular point, John, they are tuned out of the conversation.”
Enten then noted the general election numbers. Trump leads Biden by 1.1% in the RealClearPolitics average of general election polls for a head-to-head matchup, with the lead growing to 1.8% when Green Party candidate Jill Stein and independent candidates Cornel West and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are included. (RELATED: Pro-Biden Strategist Threatens To End Interview, Dismisses Dismal Polling Numbers As ‘Just Wrong’)
“I’ll just point out the Biden versus Trump margin, perhaps not a big surprise,” Enten said. “Donald Trump had a slight lead before the trial began, now he continues to have a slight lead.”
“Look, it’s still very much a winnable race for Joe Biden,” Enten said. “But at this particular point, that Trump train that’s been moving faster than it’s ever moved before in a general election doesn’t show any signs of slowing down, despite the criminal indictments against him, despite the fact that this case in New York is now going to the jury.”
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