After President Trump announced his new tariff policy, his supporters in the United States have felt the life pressure it brings, but most of them also indicated that they believe the new tariffs will benefit Americans in the long run.
According to Reuters, on the occasion of Trump returning to the White House for 100 days, the news agency interviewed 25 people across the United States who had voted for him in the last year’s election, discussing the impact of his first 100 days in office on their lives. Among the topics raised by these voters, 14 of them mentioned the tariff issue.
The majority of these 14 interviewees anticipate that the new tariff policy will ultimately produce the results promised by the Trump administration: creating manufacturing jobs domestically and securing better terms for the United States in trade negotiations with other countries.
During his campaign, Trump pledged that if re-elected, he would be able to reduce inflation and boost the economy. However, recent price hikes and market fluctuations sparked by tariffs have impacted his economic approval ratings in polls. In a joint Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted over six days ending on April 21st, approval of Trump’s handling of economic issues dropped to 37%, lower than the 42% shortly after his inauguration on January 20th.
External economists have warned that the new tariffs could lead to inflation, increase the risk of economic recession in the United States, and cause ordinary American families to lose thousands of dollars due to rising prices.
Nevertheless, among the 14 voters interviewed by Reuters, most of them expressed their willingness to give the new tariffs time to achieve the promised results by Trump. The timeframe these voters mentioned ranged from several months to several years, reflecting their varying levels of trust in the President they helped elect.
44-year-old retail worker Jon Webber, who works at a Walmart store in northeastern Indiana, stated that shortly after Trump started imposing tariffs on China and some other countries in February, the value of his Walmart employee stocks began to decline, and there seemed to be fewer people buying luxury goods.
However, Webber agreed with Trump’s view that the U.S. government needs to “start making everyone pay their fair share.” He referred to Trump’s assertion that other countries have been “taking advantage” in trade agreements with the U.S. because their tariff rates are higher than what the U.S. government levies on their goods.
Yet, Webber also said he is looking forward to seeing the economic benefits of the new tariffs by early fall. If he doesn’t see any positive outcomes by then, he may reconsider his stance.
Reuters noted that the 25 voters interviewed in this latest poll were selected from 429 respondents surveyed in February by Reuters/Ipsos. While these Trump voters from the 2020 election can’t represent all of his voters, their age, educational background, race/ethnicity, location, and voting history broadly reflect the overall profile of Trump’s voter base.