CNN's Harry Enten Says He'll Be 'Really Surprised' If Maduro Capture Is A Plus For Trump

CNN’s chief data analyst Harry Enten predicted on Monday that a majority of Americans won’t be on board with the Trump administration’s seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

“I’d be really surprised if this turns out to be a positive for Donald Trump, or at least support for this operation,” Enten said.

Enten turned to Reuters/Ipsos polling taken before the U.S. attack on Venezuela last weekend, which showed 47% of Americans opposed ousting Maduro. Just 21% favored such a move, and 29% indicated that they were unsure about it. Among Republicans, 39% favored ousting the Venezuelan leader.

(In the hours since the segment aired, Reuters/Ipsos released new polling showing that 33% of Americans approved of ousting Maduro, while 34% disapproved of it. A majority of Republicans — 65% — favored it while a majority of Democrats — also 65% — did not.)

Later in the segment, Enten argued that interest in a U.S. military operation in Venezuela could be short-lived, noting that Google searches for Maduro plummeted 70% after peaking on Saturday.

He added that searches for Maduro, at their peak, were 74% lower than those for Osama bin Laden after he was shot and killed in Pakistan in 2011, during the Obama administration.

“That had a little bit of a boost for Barack Obama [in the polls] ... back then. But it was very much of a fleeting boost,” Enten said.