President Donald Trump reportedly offered rare praise for CNN on Saturday, singling out the network’s chief data analyst, Harry Enten, after he highlighted the president’s continued popularity among Republican voters.
Trump took to Truth Social to applaud Enten while sharply criticizing CNN and MSNOW, the network formerly known as MSDNC.
“CNN is in a DEATH SPIRAL, and so is MSNOW, the new name for MSDNC — Literally, nobody is watching either Network!” Trump wrote. “The best person on CNN is Pollster Harry Enten, because he was willing to show that Donald J. Trump is six times more popular than Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, or any other President — He’s got Credibility (Don’t fire him!).”
Trump added that he believes CNN could still recover with different leadership and anchors, arguing that “a Great Brand can never truly be destroyed.” He maintained that MSNOW could not be similarly revived.
The positive post about Enten came two days after Trump shared his own ranking of American presidents on Truth Social.
That list placed Trump alone in the highest category, labeled “The Greatest.”
Former Presidents Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson were included in the lower category of “Great.”
The ranking did not include Ronald Reagan, an omission Trump attempted to address the following day. Trump shared another graphic placing Reagan alongside himself, Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson as the “five who built America.”
Enten regularly presents polling data that has not always been favorable to Trump. The CNN analyst has previously discussed the president’s difficulties with voters, declining approval ratings and public opposition to his efforts to rename bodies of water.
However, Enten recently described one survey as a “reality check” showing Trump’s powerful position within the Republican Party.
“This is a reality check for you,” Enten told CNN anchor John Berman. “That is, Donald Trump is still the sun on which the planets of the GOP revolve around. You could see it quite well here.”
Enten’s analysis prompted Trump’s public endorsement despite the president’s frequent attacks against CNN and its coverage.
The data analyst also pointed to Trump’s support for South Carolina’s Darline Graham, who recently prevailed in a primary election.
Graham was running to fill the seat held by her brother, longtime Sen. Lindsey Graham, for a full term following his unexpected death in July.
Trump’s Saturday post made clear that while his opinion of CNN remains overwhelmingly negative, he believes Enten deserves recognition for presenting polling numbers demonstrating the president’s enduring support among Republicans — and he urged the network not to fire him.
