Donald Trump's Polling After 'Liberation Day' is Disastrous For Republicans

A majority of American adults are deeply skeptical about President Donald Trump's new tariff policy according to a new YouGov survey, with more than half of those polled saying they regard the policy as "the largest peacetime tax hike in U.S. history."

Newsweek contacted the Republican National Committee for comment via online inquiry form on Tuesday outside of regular office hours.

Why It Matters

The YouGov poll is a sign that the series of tariffs Trump has imposed since his second inauguration in January might have backfired politically and damaged the president and the Republican Party.

What To Know

On Wednesday April 2, which Trump dubbed "Liberation Day," the president announced extensive new tariffs which credit ratings agency Fitch said will take them to their highest overall level since 1910.

Trump imposed a "baseline" 10 percent levy on all imports along with what he called "discount reciprocal tariffs" on dozens of countries, including a 34 percent levy on China, 25 percent on South Korea and 20 percent on the European Union.

This was on top of tariffs Trump announced on China, Mexico and Canada earlier in his presidency, and on Monday the president said the levy on Beijing would rise by an additional 50 percent in response to Chinese counter tariffs.

YouGov surveyed 1,139 adult U.S. citizens between April 3 and 6 with a four percent margin of error. The poll found 51 percent of Americans agreed that the tariffs are "the largest peacetime tax hike in U.S. history," split between 30 percent who said they "strongly agree" and 21 percent who "somewhat agree." By contrast only 20 percent said they disagreed either strongly or somewhat, with the remainder not sure.

In addition, 51 percent of Americans said they back the statement that "Republicans are crashing the American economy in real time and driving us into recession. This is not liberation day, it's recession day." Of these, 37 percent said they "strongly agree" while 14 percent said they "somewhat agree," against 28 percent who answered "strongly disagree" and 10 percent for "somewhat disagree."

Overall, 50 percent of those polled said they disapprove of "recent tariffs announced by Donald Trump," split between 39 percent for "strongly disapprove" and 11 percent for "somewhat disapprove." By contrast 39 percent said they approve, of which 21 percent did so "strongly" while 18 percent did so "somewhat."

Just 22 percent of American adults told YouGov tariffs "on foreign goods imported into the U.S. should be" increased, against 35 percent for decreased and 23 percent for kept the same.

However in better news for Trump, 48 percent of those surveyed agreed with the statement that "the U.S. subsidizes a lot of countries like Canada and keeps them in business" while 33 percent disagreed and the remainder were unsure.

In addition, only 21 percent of those polled said they have or plan to make any purchases "because you expect prices will change as a result of recent tariffs," while 56 percent said they don't.

What People Are Saying

Republican Senator Ted Cruz said: "Tariffs are a tax on consumers, and I'm not a fan of jacking up taxes on American consumers. So my hope is these tariffs are short-lived and they serve as leverage to lower tariffs across the globe."

On Monday via his Truth Social website Trump said: "Yesterday, China issued Retaliatory Tariffs of 34%, on top of their already record setting Tariffs, Non-Monetary Tariffs, Illegal Subsidization of companies, and massive long term Currency Manipulation, despite my warning that any country that Retaliates against the U.S. by issuing additional Tariffs, above and beyond their already existing long term Tariff abuse of our Nation, will be immediately met with new and substantially higher Tariffs, over and above those initially set. Therefore, if China does not withdraw its 34% increase above their already long term trading abuses by tomorrow, April 8th, 2025, the United States will impose ADDITIONAL Tariffs on China of 50%, effective April 9th."

Lin Jian, China's Foreign Affairs spokesperson, commented: "The U.S. is seeking hegemony in the name of reciprocity, sacrificing the legitimate interests of all countries to serve its own selfish interests, and prioritizing the U.S. over international rules

What Happens Next

Governments from around the world are lobbying to get the tariffs Trump imposed removed or reduced, though it remains to be seen whether the president will make concessions following the stock market's reaction and dissent within his own party.