Enten breaks down the No. 1 voter issue in midterms

One of the key issues in the election, obviously, corruption. There've been all kinds of accusations. back and forth this morning. between Kylie Minogue, this guy right here, he was an adviser to Health Secretary. Robert Kennedy junior. and former Trump. administration officials, senior ones. He's accusing them of shaping. health policy based on donations. They deny it, but it's nasty and contentious. And it gets to the larger issue. of corruption. With us now CNN chief. data analyst Harry yet. and corruption, it turns out,

was a pretty important issue. You know, I. this is sort of a fact check. for you right here. for all of the talk. about cost living, all the talk about the war in Iraq, what was the number. one issue that voters said. was crucial to their vote? It was government corruption. It was government corruption. Actually beat out the cost of living, which comes at a 49%. Government corruption came in at 55%. It was the only issue. in which. a majority of voters, in fact, said. was a crucial factor to their vote.

It beat everything cost of living, immigration, the war in Iran, I and data centers. As it turns out, corruption was the name of the game. and it played across the political map. And it may be. why Democrats are very safe territory. when they're talking. about oversight here. Yes. Corruption voters, you know, which candidates. do they choose? Yeah. This, I think, is so important. As we head into the new Congress, there's going to be. a lot of new oversight. of the Trump administration. and the voters. They absolutely want to. I mean, look at this. Okay. Take a look here.

Said corruption was crucial issue. their vote choice. Look at this. They favor Democrats by 28 points. They favor Democrats by 28 points. Ergo, the people who said. that corruption was crucial, they went overwhelmingly. for the Democrats. and among the independents, who said that. in fact, corruption was crucial. The voters look at that. It was a 36 point margin. And, of course, Democrats put up a historically. strong performance. this midterm election, at least according to the numbers. that I am looking at among independents, the largest and the exit poll.

error, essentially. So corruption. definitely played with the electorate, and it played across the political map. And I think. that is one of the big reasons. why Democrats didn't. just win in blue territory. They won in ruby red territory as well. Very safe for them right now. to be focused on corruption. and oversight. How about insofar as it relates. to the president himself? One of the voters say that, yeah, I think one of the things they want. in terms of oversight, the voters want in terms of oversight, is they want oversight of Trump. specifically. And the Trump administration. Why do I say that? Look at this.

Say, Trump's business interests influence. his presidential decisions, his decisions as president. Look at 69%. Very nice, 69% for Democrats. Look at this. among independents, the same 69% who said it. So independents, the electorate overall, they want oversight of President Trump. and his administration. And they don't think that President Trump. is keeping his business interests. out of his presidential decisions. Again, as I said, a very nice 69%, more than two and three. say that he is not. To what end, though. What are the prediction.

markets saying about that? Yeah. Okay. To what end? Well, what about the chance. that Trump gets impeached. Look at this. By January of 2028, according to the. prediction markets, a 60% chance that Trump. in fact gets impeached again. by the US House of Representatives. And I would note. that's not the first time. It's not the second time. It would be the third time. if, in fact, he was impeached. Harry, thank you very much. Thank you, my friend. We do have a lot of news as we do. We'll be right back. We know that. in this election, corruption was on the top of minds. for a lot of voters. That's according to the polls.

The president was asked about this. He was grilled on 60 minutes. about his net worth growing by $3 billion. during his second term. Let's listen. So your son manages or helps manage. a cryptocurrency company. called World Liberty Financial, which under which. you are a pro owner of that company? That's right, that's correct. Right. This company is also partially owned. by investors. connected to the government. of the United Arab Emirates. I think if I told you that story.

and it was about the Biden family, if I said Joe. Biden is the part owner of a company. and it has all of these investments. from the Middle East, you would say that sounds corrupt, right? Well, he did have a lot of jobs, I bet you, but he is. But why is it why is it different? Well, here's for you. Tell you why. Because I know nothing about it. Pete, what do you make. of the president's answer? Do you buy it? Well, a lot of things can be true. at the same time here,

not just two things. It can be true. that Donald Trump was a successful. and wealthy businessman. before he came into the white House. They can also be true. that there are unseemly moves. that are being made on crypto. and sneakers and coins. and all the other things. that have been pitched in. hock to the American people. before and during this presidency. It can also be true. that the corruption fears. are not just about. what people are seeing. in the administration. or around the administration,

but also on Capitol Hill. There are a lot of questions. about Democrats like Nancy Pelosi. and how their net worths have exploded. because of stock trades. since they've been in office. So there's a lot of focus on. just the Trump administration. But I think this is. much broader than that. When you ask the American people. they see politics as corrupt. How do you see it, Jamal? Well, first of all, it's. got to be a great way to live, to never have any responsibility. and to take any responsibility. for anything you've ever said in the past. or anything you've ever done in the past.

The president just sort of. makes these things up. to get his way through these interviews. and doesn't. have to really explain himself. about anything he's ever done before. Listen, I think. what's going to happen. now, is there going to be. oversight hearings. that are coming out of Congress. And so it's interesting. to do an interview. where you can say. whatever it is you want to say, but when you have Elizabeth Warren. or one of the other oversight. committee chairs. asking questions. under oath of people. in your family or business associates, that's a very different question. And we'll see whether. or not the president. just pardons.

everybody with a big blanket pardon. And so they can all get away with it. But the American people have said. this kind of corruption, it was too much, too fast, too far. They want it to stop. You know, affordability, is people's prime concern. Although I would say that. we really should be mentioning that. corruption ran a pretty close. second. in many responses. to what motivated voters. and the corruption. the Democrats can definitely do something. about with subpoenas and hearings. But on affordability, you know, it is a really tough thing.

if you. if people want to see prices go back. to what they were pre-COVID, nobody can deliver that. Even with a Democratic trifecta, even able to pass every legislation. that you might think of. that is not going to happen. You can make a difference, of a few percent maybe, mostly by undoing things. that Trump has done. by undoing the tariffs and the war. I want to go to that.

I want to get to that in a minute. And I. actually believe. that the corruption piece of it. is connected to the affordability. But let's go to some of the stats. According to the Labor Department, inflation was 3.7% in September, while average earnings rose just 3.1%. Look, it doesn't take any any a deep dive. into labor statistics here. to tell Americans. that they are being squeezed. You can't tell me, professor Krugman, that in two years, the Democrats are going to be able.

to go to the polls and say, oh, sorry, we had a president wielding his veto. and we couldn't do anything about this. So what can they actually do. to bring down the cost of living? Well, I mean, at the. I mean, if they can't pass a law, then they got what they control. as the legislature, as the executive branch is. under Trump's control, they cannot get past that. They can, I think, make a really good case. that they have passed good stuff. And it's all Trump's fault.

They again, they might be able. to get some Republicans. to cross over to support. some of the legislations, particularly, I think, on on the war, maybe on the tariffs. This some of the tariffs. I should also mention that, a big factor that's kind of gets on. unmentioned in a lot of the commentary. is health care costs. The and to enhanced subsidies. for the Affordable Care. Act to the end of the. of what Biden did on that,

is having a huge impact is causing. some people's. health insurance bills to just skyrocket. And that would take. not much that would just take reversing. the the cuts. that Republicans have imposed. so they can do real stuff there. if they can either. If Trump is unwilling to be the bad guy. so openly, or if enough Republicans in Congress. are unwilling to be the bad guy. But you know, it's. you know, if you ask me personally, what will you do.

to improve affordability? Well, I can't do anything. I don't have the power to do that. I think people would accept that. So, but yeah, it's. it's going to be a hard road. So I think it'll be a little bit easier. by the fact that. so much of the current. affordability crisis. is tied directly to policies. that can be reversed. What the. what the Republican. Democrats are suggesting. here is not unlike what. other majorities. have done coming in. like Republicans. when they're taking the House. They made very clear. they're going to investigate Joe Biden. And they very much did.

And I also think. we just can't ignore the fact. that that's part. of what voters told Democrats at the polls. this year, is that they are concerned. that there is this. air of corruption surrounding. President Trump, the white House allies, people aligned with him, everything from reports. that people are paying for pardons. to who gets contracts. and they want it investigated.