VOTERS SPLIT ON TRUMP’S TARIFFS BUT 48% SAY THEY NEED MORE TIME TO WORK 

OVERWHELMING SUPPORT FOR FREE TRADE BUT 58% VIEW CHINA AND OTHER COUNTRIES AS TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE U.S. WITH UNFAIR TRADE PRACTICES 

78% OF VOTERS SUPPORT REDUCING GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURES BUT WOULD NOT RENEW MUSK PAST 6 MONTHS 

60% OF VOTERS FAVOR DIRECT NEGOTIATIONS WITH IRAN WHILE 71% FAVOR OUTRIGHT DESTRUCTION OF IRAN NUCLEAR WEAPONS FACILITIES 

NEW YORK and CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Stagwell (NASDAQ: STGW) today released the results of the April Harvard CAPS / Harris poll, a monthly collaboration between the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard (CAPS) and the Harris Poll and HarrisX.  

President Donald Trump’s approval rating is steady at 48%, with the highest approval on his handling of immigration (51%) and reducing the cost of government (50%), and the lowest on his handling of inflation (41%) and tariffs and trade policy (41%). This month’s poll also covered public opinion on the economy, stock market, government efficiency, and Middle East, as well as an in-depth study on Americans’ views of Trump’s recent tariff policies. Download key results here. 

“Trump is perhaps making one of the biggest gambles of his presidency but voters are willing to give him some time,” said Mark Penn, Co-Director of the Harvard CAPS / Harris poll and Stagwell Chairman and CEO. “Tariffs have raised some questions as inflation remains everyone’s top concern but immigration and government efficiency continue to see positive support.” 

INFLATION AND THE ECONOMY REMAIN TOP ISSUES FOR VOTERS 

• 39% of voters say the country is on the right track, down 2 points from March 2025 (Democrats: 20%; Republicans: 69%; Independents: 27%). 

• 45% of voters say their personal financial situation is getting worse (+4), especially among Democrats and Independents, women, Hispanics, and voters over 55 y.o. 

• The Democratic Party’s approval rating has bounced back to November 2024 levels at 42% (+5 pts., March 2025) but remains 9 points lower than Republican Party approval at 51%.  

• Inflation and the economy remain the top two issues for voters. Less voters say immigration is a top issue facing the country (-3) while more say taxes are a top issue (+4). 

MAJORITY OF VOTERS CONTINUE TO SUPPORT MOST OF TRUMP’S POLICIES  

• The majority of voters continue to support Trump’s policies. Deporting illegal immigrants who have committed crimes (74%), closing the border (70%), and eliminating waste in government expenditures (69%) have the highest support among voters; and renaming the Gulf of Mexico (37%) and tariffs on China, Mexico, and Canada (50%) have the lowest. 

• 52% of voters say Trump is doing a better job than Biden (-2 pts., March 2025; -6 pts., February). 

• 56% of voters believe Trump is just pushing his agenda as fast and wide as it can rather than intentionally overwhelming the courts with the rapid pace of his policies. 

• 43% of voters, a plurality, say Trump is doing worse than expected (Democrats: 68%; Republicans: 18%; Independents: 46%).  

• 61% of voters say Democrats should take more of a wait-and-see attitude. 48% of voters say Democrats should oppose his tariffs and trade policy rather than see how his initiative plays out over the next few weeks.  

VOTERS SPLIT OVER TRUMP’S TARIFFS BUT SAY THEY ARE THE RIGHT IDEA AND REQUIRE MORE PATIENCE TO WORK 

• 47% of voters oppose Trump’s tariff program while 45% support it.   

• 48% of voters say the Trump administration’s tariff policies are the right idea but require more patience to work.  

• 47% of voters say the tariffs have had no impact on them so far, but more voters say the tariffs have hurt (38%) rather than helped (15%) them.  

• Voters cite increase in prices of everyday purchases (41%) and their retirement money at risk (24%) as the top two ways the tariff policies have affected them. 

STRONG SUPPORT FOR FREE TRADE BUT MISCONCEPTIONS ON SHARE OF IMPORTS IN U.S. ECONOMY 

• 84% of voters and a majority across parties support free trade. 78% of voters say free trade has been beneficial to the U.S. economy, and 82% say it has been beneficial to them and their family personally.  

• 66% of voters say tariffs are important to protect jobs in our country today (Democrats: 46%; Republicans: 87%; Independents: 62%).  

• Voters believe China (Overall: 59%; Democrats: 46%; Republicans: 72%; Independents: 57%), Russia (40%), Japan (32%), Saudi Arabia (30%), and the European Union (29%) have taken the most advantage of the U.S. in terms of trade. 

• 44% of voters, a plurality, are indifferent on whether the U.S. having a trade deficit is a bad or good thing, but more say it is a bad (35%) than a good (21%) thing. Democrats and Independents are more likely than not to be indifferent while Republicans are more likely to say it is a bad thing.  

• Most voters overestimate the percentage share of imports in the U.S. economy by at least 10 percent.  

• 43% of voters are unsure of which party tariffs are historically affiliated with, but more associate tariffs with Republicans (41%) than Democrats (15%). 

MOST VOTERS ARE KEEPING AN EYE ON STOCK MARKET NEWS WITH VIEWS OF RECIPROCAL TARIFFS FOLLOWING PARTISAN LINES 

• 71% of voters have seen news related to the stock market in the past week, with 55% of voters describing recent trends as broadly negative (Democrats: 67%; Republicans: 40%; Independents: 58%).  

• 42% of voters say they have a private retirement account like an IRA invested in the stock market, and 23% say they have a pension invested in stocks.  

• 39% of voters, a plurality, expect the U.S. economy to get worse in the next 12 months. 

• Voters are split along partisan lines on how they expect their personal financial situation will change (Stay the same: 37% (Independents: 39%); Get worse: 33% (Democrats: 49%); Get better: 30% (Republicans: 46%)).  

• 37% of voters say the U.S. should maintain tariffs unless other countries reduce their own tariffs, 28% of voters say the U.S. should remove all reciprocal tariffs, and 20% of voters say the U.S. should remove the largest tariffs like those on the EU and China. Republicans (52%) and Independents (39%) are more likely to say the U.S. should maintain, while Democrats (46%) are more likely to favor removal.  

• Overall, 40% of voters support reciprocal tariffs (Republicans: 67%) while 34% oppose such tariffs (Democrats: 54%; Independents: 38%) 

VOTERS FIND ANTI-TARIFF ARGUMENTS BELIEVABLE BUT ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE CONVINCED BY PRO-TARIFF ARGUMENTS  

• 64% of voters find it believable that tariffs push competitors and allies to offer better trade deals (Democrats: 48%; Republicans: 85%; Independents: 57%) and that tariffs help U.S. factories grow.  

• 55% of voters say the fair competition argument and the fact that tariffs from Trump first term added over 11,000 jobs in steel and aluminum make them more likely to support tariffs.  

• The majority of voters find anti-tariff arguments believable, with tariffs shaking the markets (77%), jacking up everyday costs (75%), sparking trade fights (75%), messing up supply chains (75%), and fueling inflation (75%) as the most believable arguments.   

• The top two arguments that make voters say they are less likely to support tariffs are that tariffs barely add jobs (43%) and tariffs may cut take-home pay and slow the economy (42%).  

• Of those who read pro-tariff arguments, 53% of voters opposed Trump’s tariff program, while 54% of voters who read anti-tariff statements opposed the tariffs. 

A MAJORITY OF VOTERS SUPPORT CUTTING GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURES BUT BELEIVE MUSK SHOULD RESIGN WHEN UP FOR RENEWAL  

• 61% of voters believe the current level of U.S. federal government debt is unsustainable (-7) (Democrats: 62%; Republicans: 51%; Independents: 70%), but 42% of voters are unsure by how much.  

• The majority of voters continue to support balancing the budget in the next few years (81%). 

• 67% of voters support the goal of cutting $1 trillion of government expenditures, but 57% of voters do not believe Elon Musk and DOGE will be able to hit the goal by the end of the year.  

• 58% of voters say DOGE is helping make major cuts in government expenditures (+2). 

• But 55% of voters say Musk and DOGE have gone about making government spending cuts in the wrong way. 58% of voters believe Musk should resign after his 6-month special government employee status is up for renewal. 

VOTERS WANT TRUMP TO OPEN NUCLEAR WEAPONS NEGOTIATIONS WITH IRAN BUT DO NOT THINK THEY WILL LEAD TO A DEAL  

• 75% of voters support Israel over Hamas in the conflict (-2), with 51% of voters 18-24 y.o. favoring Hamas.  

• 51% of voters support Trump’s handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict so far (-3).  

• 71% of voters say Iran’s nuclear weapons facilities should be destroyed including a majority across parties and age groups. 58% believe the U.S. should support Israel in airstrikes aimed at such a mission (Democrats: 45%; Republicans: 73%; Independents: 54%).  

• 60% of voters support Trump opening direct negotiations with Iran over their nuclear weapons, though 44%, a plurality, think such negotiations will not lead to a deal (Democrats: 46%; Republicans: 37%; Independents: 49%).  

• 39% of voters, a plurality, say the 2016 U.S.-Iran Nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama administration was not successful (Democrats: 25%; Republicans: 50%; Independents: 40%). 

The April Harvard CAPS / Harris poll survey was conducted online within the United States on April 9-10, 2025, among 2,286 registered voters by The Harris Poll and HarrisX. Follow the Harvard CAPS / Harris poll podcast at https://www.markpennpolls.com/ or on iHeart Radio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other podcast platforms.   

About The Harris Poll & HarrisX 

The Harris Poll is a global consulting and market research firm that strives to reveal the authentic values of modern society to inspire leaders to create a better tomorrow. It works with clients in three primary areas: building twenty-first-century corporate reputation, crafting brand strategy and performance tracking, and earning organic media through public relations research. One of the longest-running surveys in the U.S., The Harris Poll has tracked public opinion, motivations, and social sentiment since 1963, and is now part of Stagwell, the challenger holding company built to transform marketing. 

HarrisX is a technology-driven market research and data analytics company that conducts multi-method research in the U.S. and over 40 countries around the world on behalf of Fortune 100 companies, public policy institutions, global leaders, NGOs and philanthropic organizations. HarrisX was the most accurate pollster of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. 

About the Harvard Center for American Political Studies
The Center for American Political Studies (CAPS) is committed to and fosters the interdisciplinary study of U.S. politics.  Governed by a group of political scientists, sociologists, historians, and economists within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University, CAPS drives discussion, research, public outreach, and pedagogy about all aspects of U.S. politics. CAPS encourages cutting-edge research using a variety of methodologies, including historical analysis, social surveys, and formal mathematical modeling, and it often cooperates with other Harvard centers to support research training and encourage cross-national research about the United States in comparative and global contexts. More information at https://caps.gov.harvard.edu/. 

Contact:
Carrie Hsu
pr@stagwellglobal.com