Nearly 60 percent of Americans disagree with President Trump’s handling of tariffs and trade negotiations two months into his second term, a new poll finds amid Trump’s escalating trade wars with Canada, Mexico and China.
The sentiment surrounding Trump’s economic policies was the lowest among areas surveyed in the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll released Monday, while Trump received considerably higher marks on his sweeping immigration crackdown.
Just 38 percent of respondents said they approve of Trump’s approach to trade negotiations with other countries, while 40 percent said they agree with his handling of the economy overall. Comparatively, half of respondents in the AP poll said they agree with the president’s immigration policies, which have included mass deportations and other efforts to crack down on both legal and illegal immigration.
Republicans surveyed were more supportive of the president’s policies overall, but even their views on trade have soured. About 30 percent of GOP respondents said they disagree with his trade policies, while just 10 percent disagree with his immigration overhaul.
Trump has levied 25 percent taxes on most imports from Canada and Mexico, and increased tariffs on China from 10 percent to 20 percent. A 25-percent tariff on automobile imports is slated to take effect this week, despite warnings from economists, and Trump plans to impose additional reciprocal tariffs on other countries that tax U.S. imports.
Consumer confidence has tumbled and the stock market has slumped throughout Trump’s ongoing economic policy changes, but the president and his allies argue that efforts are aimed at building a stronger job market and domestic manufacturing growth long term.
“Our Economy will BOOM, like never before!,” Trump wrote in a March 14 post on Truth Social.
The AP-NORC poll surveyed 1,229 adults from NORC’s AmeriSpeak Panel from March 20-24. It has a margin of error of 3.9 percentage points.