A poll conducted by Elon University Poll surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults and found 80% of respondents anticipate higher prices due to President Trump’s trade policies.
Director of Elon University Poll, Jason Husser, said the survey of 1,000 Americans was done to represent every census region such as Northeast and Southwest and census parameters such as income and education.
On April 2, Trump announced 10% tariffs on all countries and separate tailored tariffs on other countries such as China, who Trump has placed 145% tariffs on.
Elon Poll found partisan divides among respondents about how higher tariffs will impact respondents' financial situations. The poll found 90% of Democrat respondents had much higher concern compared to 41% of Republican respondents.
Husser said surveys from the past 30 years have increasingly become divided along party lines and respondent’s answers are influenced by the party they identify with.
“Those who identify with President Trump’s party, the Republicans, tend to have a much more positive view of the economy, and much less worry about where we’re heading as an economy than do Democrats,” Husser said. “We’re finding high levels of anxiety and worries among Democrats.”
Trump has been touting tariffs as a way for America to bring jobs back from foreign countries since his first administration. Recently, Trump said the economic pain tariffs may cause for consumers will be worth it in the long run. The poll found 38% of respondents are willing to accept higher prices if it means economic development will be better in the future. Forty-three percent of respondents were not willing to accept that trade-off.
The partisan divide continued with 71% of Republicans saying they would accept higher prices, but only 13% of Democrats and 25% of Independents making that same concession. Forty-four percent of white respondents of the poll were more accepting of short-term higher prices, whereas only 22% of Black respondents said they were willing to accept higher prices.
A plurality of respondents said tariffs will help grow production in America and lessen the country’s reliance on foreign imports, and 49% of respondents said the tariffs will create more job opportunities for American workers. Eighty-four percent of Republican respondents had a more positive outlook on the effects of tariffs on American production compared to 29% of Democrats and 39% of Independents.
“Slightly over half, thought it was more likely than not that these tariffs would have this benefit for manufacturing in the United States,” Husser said. “However, much of that was driven by Republicans.”
Overall, confidence in the American economy is weak, with 45% of respondents saying they are less confident in the economy since Trump took office. The levels of confidence continue to fall along partisan divides with 65% of Republicans having increased economic confidence compared to only 9% of Democrats having increased confidence and 17% of Independents.