Economy not lifting Trump
Americans give mixed reviews to president in poll
WASHINGTON — The solid economy is doing little to bolster support for President Donald Trump.
Americans give Trump mixed reviews for his economic stewardship despite the growth achieved during this presidency, according to a new survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Nearly two-thirds describe as “good” an economy that appears to have set a record for the longest expansion in U.S. history, with decade-long growth that began under President Barack Obama. More people consider the economy to be good today than did at the start of the year.
But significantly fewer approve of Trump’s handling of the economy, even as it remains a relative strength compared with other issues. The survey indicates that most Americans do not believe they’re personally benefiting from his trade policies.
And only 17% said they received a tax cut, despite government and private sector figures showing that a majority of taxpayers owed less after the president’s tax overhaul passed in 2017.
These doubts create a possible vulnerability as Trump highlights the economy’s solid performance in his campaign for re-election in 2020.
Nearly half of Americans, 47%, approve of Trump’s handling of the economy, but his overall approval rating — 38% — is low compared with what past presidents have enjoyed in strong economic conditions. Only about 4 in 10 Americans approve of his handling of taxes and trade negotiations.
The public skepticism has persisted even as the president routinely congratulates himself on the economy, including the 3.6% unemployment rate and stock market gains.
The 2017 tax overhaul was sold by the administration as a way to return more income to everyday Americans.
But the poll shows nearly half say they think their taxes stayed the same or are unsure; 33% said they increased.
This suggests the tax cuts may have been too modest to notice or were eaten up by daily expenses, or that people were disappointed with their refunds.
That feeling of being left behind has energized Democrats seeking to turn out the vote next year.
Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say the amount they paid in taxes increased in the last year, 42% versus 25%, while more Republicans say their taxes decreased, 25% versus 10%.
Nor are tariffs popular. Trump has imposed a tax on roughly $250 billion worth of Chinese imports, part of an effort to force the world’s secondlargest economy to trade on more favorable terms with the United States. China retaliated with their own tariffs that hit the U.S. agricultural sector, causing the Trump administration to provide aid to farmers with lost profits.
The president has also threatened tariffs on Mexico in order to get that country to reduce the border-crossings into the United States and has mused about hitting European autos with import taxes as well.
A mere 15% of Americans said the tariffs will help them and their family.
With regards to the national economy, just 26% said the tariffs will help, a sharp decline from 40% who said that last August. About half said the tariffs will be harmful.
Republicans, in particular, are less optimistic: Half think Trump’s tariffs will help the economy, down from 7 in 10 in August.
Ryan Brueggemann, 37, of New Berlin, Wisconsin, runs a dairy farm with his brother.
He supports Trump but dislikes the tariffs, though he understands why the president has deployed them .
“I don’t believe it’s a great business practice to use them,” Brueggemann said. “But it came down to the point where our country is being taken advantage of unfairly and that the only way other nations were going to listen to what we wanted to renegotiate and even get them to the table to think about it was to get their attention by putting some tariffs on products.”