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CNN’s chief data analyst Harry Enten on Wednesday revealed how Elon Musk’s gross unpopularity may have contributed to his decision to draw back on his political spending.
“How unpopular is he? How low can you go?” Enten said of the billionaire, whose campaign to slash the federal government has been a key component — so far — of President Donald Trump’s chaotic second term.
Enten noted that Musk’s net favorability rating with Americans in 2017 reached +24 percentage points, per Ipsos polling.
Now, as Musk plans to step back from his role in the Trump administration, that figure has cratered to -19 percentage points.
The shift in Musk’s net favorability rating was worse among Democrats, according to Enten’s analysis, as the figure was at +35 percentage points in 2017 and, in the time since, has dropped to -91 percentage points.
“You can’t really go lower than that, I guess you could go down to -100 points. But he became political kryptonite,” said Enten of Musk.
After spotting how Musk’s “political kryptonite” has also impacted Tesla — which is reportedly seeking a Musk successor to serve as the company’s CEO following a decline in revenue during the first quarter — Enten turned to how Trump has shifted his approach to the billionaire.
Between his first day in office back in January and April 4, Enten noted that Trump “loved talking” about the billionaire on his Truth Social platform, posting about him on roughly 40 occasions.
From April 5 onward, however, he’s made 0 posts about Musk.
“Donald Trump knows brands very well. He knows political brands, and he knows Elon Musk’s political brand’s time had run out, and therefore, Elon Musk is taking a step back from politics,” Enten said.
English (US) ·