CNN Analyst Reveals ‘Americans Agree With Trump’ On Broken Higher Ed System

CNN’s chief data analyst Harry Enten revealed on Monday that most Americans agree with the Trump administration’s assessment that higher education needs “a kick in the rear end,” with confidence in colleges plummeting to just 36%.

The decline in Americans’ confidence in higher education has been dramatic over the past decade, Enten explained, citing a recent Gallup poll.

“You go back a decade ago, 57% of Americans had high confidence in higher education. … That number has plummeted … down to 36%,” Enten explained, speaking with Kate Balduan, adding that 68% of Americans believe higher education is “on the wrong track.”

The perception of ideological bias on college campuses is widespread, with Enten revealing that a plurality of Americans agree colleges have a liberal bias, while only a small minority disagree.

“So, do colleges have a liberal bias? I think that’s really the question here. What we see in polling after polling after polling is that the plurality say yes. Overall, look at that. 45% of Americans overall agree with the idea that colleges have a liberal bias. Just 24% disagree with that idea.”

Among Republicans, the sentiment is even stronger, with “67% of Republicans” agreeing that “colleges have a liberal bias,” reflecting why many conservatives have long criticized academia.

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“This is why Donald Trump is so emphatic and so wanting to take on this fight because he knows that Republicans hate universities, hate the administrations, believe they have a liberal bias, and in fact the plurality of Americans overall agree with the idea, agree with Donald Trump, that colleges are in fact a place where bias reigns.”

A lot of Americans agree with Trump: higher ed needs a kick in the rear end. Those with high confidence in higher ed has collapsed: 57% in 2015 to 36% now. 68% (!) say higher ed is on the wrong track.

Also, a plurality of Americans & the GOP agree: colleges have a liberal bias. pic.twitter.com/JZtup3BoGV

— (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) May 29, 2025

According to Enten, it’s no longer much of a question of if there is bias, but rather, “it’s a question of whether or not people agree with Trump’s tactics,” although they “definitely agree with him on the idea that there is a problem with higher ed overall.”

These poll results come as Trump has attempted to crack down on universities such as Harvard, which receive billions in federal funding and grants despite rampant DEI initiatives and tolerance of antisemitism on campus.

Trump’s tough stance on higher education may already be having an impact internationally. Webpage views for U.S. university courses from potential students abroad have plummeted by 50% between January and April, according to Enten, suggesting foreign students are looking elsewhere for their education.