The good news for Trump is that if there’s one thing the American people really don’t mind it’s high prices, eight?
Two-thirds of Americans think Donald Trump’s tariff plans will only add to rising costs if implemented, and many are planning purchases ahead of his inauguration anticipating higher prices, according to a Harris poll conducted exclusively for the Guardian.
Trump declared on Monday evening that he would impose 25% tariffs on all goods from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10% on China, if they did not stop what he claimed was illegal immigration and fentanyl smuggling.
But although he has called tariffs the most “beautiful word in the dictionary”, about 69% of Americans think tariffs on imports will lead to higher prices, according to the poll.
The majority of Democrats (79%), independents (68%) and Republicans (59%) all believe that tariffs will increase the prices of the goods they pay for in the US. Nearly the same percentage of respondents said that tariffs will have a significant effect on what they can afford.
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The poll also showed some voters do not know how tariffs work. Though 78% of Americans felt confident they understand what a tariff is, only 48% correctly answered that American companies pay the tariffs. Nearly half of Republicans (47%) incorrectly said that foreign countries are responsible for paying tariffs, compared with 32% of Democrats.
Though tariffs appear to be more popular among Republicans, just 51% of Republicans said tariffs will have a positive impact on the economy – 27% of independents and 20% of Democrats thought the same.
I’m not sure Trump cares. He’s drink with power and doesn;t have to face voters agaib anyway. But Trump conditioned his tariffs on them stopping illegal immigration and fentanyl so there;s a fair chance he’ll just say once he’s inaugurated that his threats led to much improvement and cooperation so it’s not really necessary to actually put them on. He’s got such huge hands that these other countries folded.
But who knows? He just might do it anyway. He loves his tariffs.