U.S. President Donald Trump’s standing among voters has taken a turn for the worse as polls suggest some voters, even Republicans, are souring on his agenda, including the one policy he says is his favourite.
While Trump’s recent “one big beautiful bill” that cuts taxes and health-care spending is unpopular, there’s another issue in particular that has drawn the ire of more Americans: tariffs.
Trump’s approval rating is 38 per cent — a nine percentage point drop from where he stood in February and the lowest level so far recorded during his second presidency, according to a Pew Research Center poll of 3,554 U.S. adults conducted this month.
On the issue of trade, 61 per cent of all respondents said they disapprove of Trump’s policy of imposing substantially higher tariffs on goods from other countries.
There are also cracks in support among Republican voters, with the data suggesting Trump is personally more popular than his trade policies — and it’s not particularly close.
About 85 per cent of the people who voted for Trump in 2024 approve of his job performance overall, but Pew found only 31 per cent of the Republican poll respondents “strongly” approve of his tariffs scheme, which has driven up prices, prompted economic anxiety and fractured Canada-U.S. relations.
“The Trump administration’s tariff increases are underwater among the American public. Most say they will have a negative impact on themselves and their family,” Jocelyn Kiley, the director of politics research for Pew, said in an interview with CBC News.
“With Republicans, you definitely see some softness there in support.”
Tariffs an ‘existential threat’ to auto parts firm
Chuck Dardas is the president of AlphaUSA, a family-owned auto parts firm in Livonia, Mich., which manufacturers bolts, fasteners and clips for carmakers.
He says Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum products in particular have spiked costs at the firm, which employs about 200 workers in the Detroit suburbs.
Margins are very thin in the parts industry and Dardas says the company has paid out some “seven figures” and counting to cover tariff costs on products from Canada and elsewhere.
“It’s an existential threat and if something isn’t done about it, whoa, it isn’t going to be pretty,” he said in an interview.
Dardas says he had issues with former president Joe Biden — his lax migration polices at the southern border were a particular concern — and he was supportive of Trump’s push to bring more manufacturing back to the U.S. But now he feels like Trump is unfairly targeting firms like his even though, he says, “We’re as red, white and blue as you can get.”
Before the president’s second term, Dardas says business was “very healthy.” Now, just a few months later, he says the company may have to close its doors without some sort of tariff reprieve.
The Detroit 3 automakers are among several auto sector companies taking a big hit from the Trump administration’s tariffs. According to Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, some of the pressure from the U.S.’s self-inflicted harm on its own auto sector is ‘starting to finally bubble up.’
“If my employees hear this they’re going to freak out, but I really think, by this time next year, if this continues, a lot of people will be gone. And our company isn’t alone — we’re not an island — there’s thousands of us out here that are severely wounded by these tariffs.”
Dardas says he’s tried to make the case to his local Republican congresswoman, Lisa McClain, that these tariffs are harmful, but it’s fallen on deaf ears.
“They’re all very much for the tariffs,” he said. “It’s hard for me to swallow.”
He says he’s also riled up by the Trump administration’s insistence foreigners will bear the costs of these tariffs — a dubious claim given it is generally American importers that pay tariffs to the U.S. government when they bring in goods.
“We get the bill. We’re paying it,” Dardas said. “My money tree — there’s nothing left on those branches.”
Small business owner frustrated by Trump’s tariff claims
Madeleine Wiering is the co-owner of Papillon Press, a stationery and paper products store in Webster Groves, Mo., just outside St. Louis.
Trump’s decision to scrap longstanding de minimis exemptions on low-value goods — subjecting all imports to new duties and tariffs — has disrupted her business, which involves bringing in specialty products from Canada, France, India and the U.K.
She’s warning customers on social media that her prices will go up when that policy takes effect at month’s end.
Like Dardas, she’s frustrated with Trump’s repeated claim that foreign countries will pay the tariffs — a falsehood that she told CBC News is widely believed in her community.
“Trump and his administration are just screwing around with people’s lives. I think they have grossly misled the American public and they are hurting the everyday people that make this country go around,” Wiering said.
“I did like Trump, but as soon as I started paying attention to how this is actually impacting people’s lives, my perspective changed,” she said.
“He’s doing things that are very harmful to the country.”
Jeffrey Sparks is a retiree who lives in Indiana or, as he describes it, “Trump heaven,” a deep red state that overwhelmingly backed the president in the last election.
Sparks says he’s become a political centrist and is firmly opposed to many of the president’s policies, including his trade agenda.
He says he’s worried about further price increases as the tariffs start to trickle down even more to local retailers.
“With Trump, it’s all about the art of the deal. I don’t think he really realizes what the impact will be on regular folk,” Sparks said.
“It’s really sad that the Republican party won’t stand up to this jerk.”
Businesses and consumers from around the world are reacting as U.S. President Donald Trump began levying higher import taxes from more than 60 countries, including Canada at 35 per cent.
Auto workers ‘on edge’ as sales decrease, prices rise
Larissa Peterson works for an auto parts manufacturer in Michigan, where she says tariffs have shaken business confidence and pushed up the price of goods — the opposite of what the president promised on the campaign trail.
She told CBC News that she keeps a watchful eye on her household expenses and says she’s tracked price increases since some of the tariffs came into effect — cooking hamburgers at home, for example, now costs about $6 more than it did earlier this year.
But it’s what could happen to her trade-dependent workplace that’s most concerning to her. “In my opinion, the tariffs have done nothing but damage every single person I work with.”
Peterson says the company’s sales are lower, workers’ hours have been cut and people are living in fear that things will only get worse because Trump shows no sign of backing down.
“It’s dramatically decreased the economy around here, especially since April when all of this started going down,” she said. “Everyone is on edge because you never know what tomorrow might bring. Are we going to come here and the doors are going to be shut?”
Peterson says she liked Trump when he hosted his reality show, The Apprentice, and “really tried to give him the benefit of the doubt” during his first term.
“This term is just worse than it was last time. My biggest concern is, honestly, for my children, my son and daughter. I’m thinking about how the future is going to be for them.”
