Poll Reveals Strong Backing for Trump and His Policy Agenda

2. The Tariff Wars: Public Opinion Turns Negative

One of the Trump administration’s signature early actions was the imposition of 25 % tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, aimed at correcting trade imbalances and reviving U.S. manufacturing.

Canada, the European Union, and other trading partners responded with retaliatory tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of American exports, intensifying global trade tensions.

Public Views on Tariffs

Across multiple national surveys, tariff policy emerged as one of Trump’s weakest areas in public opinion:

A Pew Research Center survey reported that 59 % of Americans disapproved of tariff increases, with just 39 % approving — significantly contributing to Trump’s overall low job approval.

Comparable results from later Pew polling showed roughly 61 % disapproval of the administration’s tariff policies, with only about 38 % offering approval.

A Harris/Marquette Law School poll found that 58 % of adults believed tariffs would hurt the U.S. economy, versus only 28 % who thought tariffs would be beneficial.

Other surveys showed many Americans expecting tariffs to lead to higher prices on everyday goods, with about 64 % disapproving of how Trump handled these trade issues.

In short, tariffs have been broadly unpopular across party lines, though Republicans are significantly more supportive of them than Democrats or independents.

In Pew data, 68 % of Republicans approved of tariff policies, compared with overwhelming Democratic disapproval around 89 %.

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