CNN data reporter Harry Enten told the network’s viewers Oct. 30 that there were signs that President-elect Donald Trump could win the election, remarking at the time, “You can’t say you weren’t warned.”
Trump secured the 270 electoral votes necessary to win the presidency early in the morning of Nov. 6, defeating Vice President Kamala Harris. On air leading up to the election, Enten cautioned viewers that there were seemingly several paths to 270 for Trump, and claimed there were “signs” that the then-Republican nominee was likely to prevail.
Aug. 13: Enten Tells CNN Viewers Trump Is “Very Much In This Ball Game”
Less than a week before the Democratic National Convention, Enten told CNN viewers that Harris’ supporters should not “open the champagne,” even as polls showed Harris surging into the lead after President Joe Biden announced he would not seek reelection on July 21.
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CNN’s Harry Enten Warns Harris Fans Not To ‘Open The Champagne Bottle’ Yet As Trump ‘Very Much In This Ball Game’ pic.twitter.com/U8XbduhEAf
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 13, 2024
“In 2016, the average poll in those states that I mentioned, those Great Lake battleground states, Trump was underestimated by nine points on average at this point in 2016,” Enten explained to “CNN News Central” co-host Sara Sidner. “How about 2020? It wasn’t a one-off, look at this. He was underestimated by five points on average. And of course, Kamala Harris’ advantage in those New York Times/Siena College polls were four points in each of these key battleground states, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin.”
“If you’re a Kamala Harris fan and you want to rip open the champagne bottle, pop that cork, do not do it,” Enten added later. “Donald Trump is very much in this race.”
In 2024, Trump won Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, as he did in 2016.
Sept. 24: Enten Notes Kamala Harris’ Support Among Certain Demographics Is Lower Than Biden’s In 2020
Two weeks after the Sept. 10 debate between Trump and Harris, Enten detailed for viewers how Trump was gaining support among both Hispanic and black voters in polling.
“Look, Kamala Harris is up by 66 points among black voters. That is up from where Joe Biden was earlier this year, right, when he got out of the race he was up by 51 points over Donald Trump. But this 66-point-lead is way lower than that 80-point-lead that Joe Biden had over Donald Trump at this point in the 2020 cycle. It’s 14 points lower,” Enten told “CNN News Central” co-host Kate Bolduan.
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“Kamala Harris is ahead by 15 points. That’s certainly significantly better than Joe Biden was doing just a few months ago when it was a seven-point advantage. But again, look at this, this 15-point advantage that Harris has is significantly less than Joe Biden was doing at this point four years ago,” Enten said regarding Hispanic voters.
Trump carried 46% of the Hispanic vote in 2024, according to CNN’s exit poll. In 2020, Trump carried just 32% of Hispanic voters, CNN’s exit poll showed.
Oct. 14: Enten Says Harris Lags Behind Biden, Clinton In Rust Belt
Less than two weeks after then-vice presidential nominees for their respective parties, Republican Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio and Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, debated on Oct. 1, Enten noted that Harris was underperforming President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
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“I have never seen such consistently tight polling such as this across the battleground states in all the time I have been looking and covering politics,” Enten said.
“I think this is what gives Democrats agita because yeah, it looks like Harris is slightly ahead, though well within the margin of error, but compared to where we were 4 years ago and 8 years ago, at this point Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, an average across all three,” Enten told CNN Host Jake Tapper. “Right now, you got Harris by 1 point above average of the three, but Joe Biden was up by 8, Hillary Clinton was up by 8. I don’t have to tell you that Hillary Clinton lost all three of these states. Joe Biden barely won all three of these states.”
Harris would hold leads in Wisconsin and Michigan in the Real Clear Polling average, but neither lead topped 0.5%, while Trump led in Pennsylvania.
Oct. 17: Enten Outlines Trump’s ‘Very Strong Position’ In Wisconsin
Three days after noting Harris’ performance was lagging in the Rust Belt swing states, Enten discussed how Trump was in a “very strong position” to win Wisconsin.
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“One of the real questions I have is whether the polls are actually going to be any good this time around, because you’ll look in 2020, what you see in the final polls in Wisconsin, you saw Biden up by 8,” Enten told Tapper. “The actual result was Biden by a point, now I’ll note, I rounded that number up, I think it was 0.63 percentage points. So the question is, are the polls actually [going to] be right this time around or are they [going to], again, underestimate Donald Trump? If so, Donald Trump is in a very strong position in the Badger State.”
Trump would go on to win Wisconsin by just under one percentage point in the 2024 election.
Oct. 25: Enten Says Trump Could Win The Popular Vote
Eleven days before the election, Enten appeared on “CNN News Central,” where he outlined polling data showing Trump holding a popular vote lead.
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“Harris in the average poll right now is up by 1, well within the margin of error. You go back four years ago, Joe Biden was well ahead of Donald Trump in the national popular vote polls,” Enten said. “He was up by 9. Even Hillary Clinton was up by 6 points, so now Donald Trump’s in a position he really hasn’t been before at this point in the campaign where he could truly compete and can truly say at this point that the popular vote is way too close to call.”
Trump ultimately won the popular vote in 2024 and was leading Harris in the popular vote by 1.6% as of Friday, according to Reuters.
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