CNN host tries to bait poll expert into bashing Trump on immigration — but the facts get in the way: 'No sign of a backlash'

After insisting for months that his hands were tied, President Joe Biden this week finally took executive action on the border crisis.

Whether his action will make a difference remains to be seen. Critics say it will be business as usual at the border because the action doesn't make substantive changes to discourage migrants from illegally entering the U.S. But CNN data expert Harry Enten showed Tuesday why Biden chose this moment — five months away from Election Day — to finally do something.

'It is not just that immigration is more at the top of voters' minds than it was four years ago, it is that who they trust on the issue has changed tremendously.'

First, Enten showed that voters believe immigration is the second most important issue of the election.

That's an important fact to establish, he explained, because the same issue was ranked as the 15th-most important issue of the 2020 election.

"We've gone from 15th to second," Enten said. "So to me, it is not a huge surprise that President Biden is doing what he is doing because the fact is: Immigration is at the top of the mind for the American voter."

Second, Americans trust Donald Trump to handle immigration much, much more than they trust Biden, Enten explained.

In fact, Enten pulled out data showing that, in the run-up to the 2020 election, voters actually trusted Biden to handle immigration more than they did Trump. But there has since been a whopping 30-point swing the other direction.

"Back in June 2020, Biden was actually trusted more on the question of border security and immigration by a single point," Enten said. "Look at where we are in May of 2024. My goodness gracious. Look at this huge jump that Donald Trump has gotten. He is now ahead on this issue by 27 percentage points."

"So it is not just that immigration is more at the top of voters' minds than it was four years ago, it is that who they trust on the issue has changed tremendously," he explained.

At that point, CNN host Kate Bolduan tried to bait Enten into criticizing Trump by calling Trump's immigration rhetoric "most extreme and most harsh" and asking Enten to predict "backlash" against Trump.

But Enten quickly ended that narrative.

"I think a lot of Democrats are saying, 'Oh, look at Donald Trump, look at what we call anti-immigration rhetoric. There is going to be some backlash.' I am not quite sure that is exactly right," he responded.

To prove his response, Enten cited survey data showing that voters born outside the U.S. prefer Trump to Biden for president.

"This is a change from where we were in 2020 because those voters were born outside the United States preferred Joe Biden," he explained. "But in this case, no sign of a backlash."

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