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(CN) — A majority of Americans expressed dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump’s handling of the economy amid a market-rattling trade war, according to a new CNN poll.
Fifty-six percent of Americans told pollsters they disapprove of Trump’s economic policy, higher than at any time during his first term of office, the poll shows. Of those polled, 61% specifically disapprove of his tariffs policy.
The poll, conducted from March 6 to March 9, suggests Americans are concerned that Trump’s strategy of using tariffs to cudgel trading partners into geopolitical concessions could harm the U.S. economy.
On his first day in office, the president promised to impose a 25% tariff on products from Canada and Mexico. The tariffs, with some adjustments, went into effect on March 4, adding to 20% in tariffs imposed on Chinese imports.
Canada and China retaliated with their own tariffs, causing havoc in the markets amid fears a trade war would raise consumer prices and dampen economic growth. On Wednesday, Trump announced a new 25% tax on imported aluminum and steel, causing the European Union to impose tariffs on U.S. goods.
Trump has continued his saber-rattling in the face of reprisals, including a threat to annex Canada, even while his Republican allies have sought to assuage concerns of a trade war.
House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters after the March 4 tariffs were announced that it was “not an adversarial thing” but in fact were designed to repair trade relations with countries he said had taken advantage of the U.S.
“I don’t think anybody envisions a trade war or looks forward to that,” Johnson said. “The America First agenda is to reset those relationships. We support it, and we’ll see what happens.”
Trump has regularly defied political orthodoxy, but few presidents have been able to escape the wrath of voters facing economic hardship. Of those polled, 42% said the economy was the most important issue facing the country, more than double the share of those who raised other concerns, including the state of U.S. democracy, immigration and health care.
Scott Baier, an economics professor at Clemson University, said uncertainty, from on-again, off-again tariffs to stilted peace talks in Ukraine, hurt the economy by disrupting long-term planning by consumers, managers and investors.
“All of these things and more take their toll,” Baier said.
High tariffs could harm cross-border trade in intermediate goods, disrupting the manufacturing of automobiles, electronics and textile while straining longtime political and economic relationships, Maier said. However, if used strategically, the tariffs could lead to concessions that ultimately foster more efficient trade.
While Americans are skeptical of Trump’s economic strategy, 51% say they approve of his handling of immigration, a higher percentage than at any time during his first term, according to the poll.
Americans are divided on the president’s handling of the federal budget and federal government, with 48% percent approval on both issues. A majority are also not fans of Trump’s handling of health care and foreign affairs, with 56% and 58% disapproving respectively, the poll shows.
Trump’s overall job approval rating stands at 45%, matching his highest rating during his first term of office, but down slightly from February.
Americans are less fond of Trump’s allies, including Tesla founder Elon Musk and Vice President JD Vance.
Overall, Americans are split on the health of the country, with 52% saying the country was doing well and 48 percent saying it was doing badly. A significantly higher number of Americans, 33%, say the country was doing “pretty badly” compared to 8% who say the county is doing “very well," however.
The CNN poll was conducted by SSRS from a random national sample of 1,206 adults contacted online or by telephone with a live interviewer. The poll’s margin of sampling error is ±3.3 percentage points.
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