Trump’s Approval Soars as Shutdown Backfires on Democrats

Washington’s in chaos, and President Donald Trump’s playing it cool, unfazed by the government shutdown grinding the capital to a halt.

CNN’s Harry Enten crunched the numbers, and the verdict’s clear: this standoff isn’t denting Trump’s armor.

In fact, he’s gaining ground.

"[The] shutdown hasn’t eaten into Donald Trump[’s] support at all. His net approval rating is actually up a point in terms of his popular support," Enten said on air Tuesday. "The first shutdown during Trump’s first term, 2018-2019, was hurting Donald Trump. This one is not hurting him at all. There’s no real reason Donald Trump might say, at least when it comes to popular support, 'I want to get out of this shutdown.'"

Unlike the 2018-2019 shutdown, when 61 percent of Americans pinned the blame on Trump, only 48 percent do now, per Enten’s data.

"It’s no real wonder that Donald Trump, at this point, looking at the shutdown, says, 'You know what? It’s not actually harming me politically,'"Enten added.

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The numbers back him up: Trump’s approval rating hasn’t budged, even climbing a point since the government closed 20 days ago.

But Congress, not the president, holds the purse strings. So why’s Trump taking any heat?

Democrats are digging in, vowing to block any spending bill that doesn’t extend Affordable Care Act subsidies set to expire by year’s end.

Republicans, with razor-thin majorities in Congress, need a few Senate Democrats to play ball for a short-term fix. So far, Dems aren’t budging, leaving them to shoulder the shutdown’s fallout.

And fallout there is — for Democrats.

The GOP’s cashing in, literally.

House Republicans raked in a record-breaking $24 million from July to September, with $13.95 million pouring in during September alone, according to Fox News.

That’s a 50 percent spike from September 2024, marking the National Republican Congressional Committee’s best non-election-year September ever.

With $46 million cash on hand and $93 million raised in 2025, the GOP’s war chest is bulging.

NRCC Chair Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., credits the haul to "strong grassroots enthusiasm and growing confidence in the Republican Party’s agenda."

"House Republicans are firing on all cylinders. Our majority funded the federal government, and we’re delivering for working families and building unstoppable momentum heading into 2026," he declared in a statement to Fox News Digital.

As Washington remains paralyzed, Trump’s standing tall, the GOP’s coffers are swelling, and Democrats are left scrambling.

The shutdown clock ticks on, but for now, it’s advantage Republicans.