CNN data analyst Harry Enten delivered a cold dose of reality to Democrats reeling from the 2024 election results, saying that Donald Trump’s sweeping gains with key voter groups weren’t just a blow—they were practically a demolition job. Democrats may have had their meltdowns and vented on social media, but according to Enten, they still don’t seem to understand just how deep the damage really goes.
Breaking down the numbers, Enten pointed out that Trump’s 2024 showing represented one of the most significant improvements for a Republican candidate in decades. “When was the last time a party gained in so many areas?” Enten asked, driving home the scale of Trump’s performance. You’d have to rewind back to 1992, when Bill Clinton managed to outdo Michael Dukakis’s numbers across 49 states and D.C., to see anything comparable. And even then, Clinton was riding high on a wave of change, not clawing back after a previous loss like Trump just did.
Trump’s performance on election night, Enten suggested, was nothing short of a record-breaker, setting a new high for GOP candidates in exit poll history. This wasn’t just any win—it was a historic one that stretched Trump’s numbers across almost every state in the union, including Washington, D.C. The sheer scale, he noted, might have even surprised Trump’s own team. For Enten, the real story here was “the breadth of the improvement that Donald Trump had – Holy Toledo!” A win this wide-reaching isn’t something the Democrats can easily brush under the rug.
Jake Tapper chimed in, too, calling Trump’s victory the “greatest comeback in history,” underscoring just how unlikely and powerful this win was. Tapper mused that even Nixon’s return to power doesn’t quite match the level of comeback Trump pulled off, making his 2024 victory one for the history books. As Democrats grapple with the fallout, it’s becoming clearer by the day that Trump didn’t just win an election—he redefined the game in a way that will leave his opponents scrambling for answers.
