President Donald Trump’s approval rating has sunk to its lowest point of his second term, with a new Pew Research Center poll showing 61 per cent of Americans disapprove of his aggressive tariff policies. The survey found his overall approval at just 38 per cent, a nine-point drop since February, with even Republicans showing signs of fatigue over an agenda that has driven up costs and rattled the economy.
While Trump still enjoys personal loyalty among much of his base, only about one-third of Republican respondents said they “strongly” support his tariffs, underscoring a widening gap between his political brand and the economic pain many voters say they are experiencing.
In Michigan, Chuck Dardas, who runs AlphaUSA, an auto parts firm near Detroit, described tariffs on steel and aluminum as an “existential threat” to his 200-worker business. Costs have surged into the millions, and he fears his company could close if relief doesn’t come. “We’re as red, white and blue as you can get,” he said, “but this is going to wipe us out.”
Small business owners like Madeleine Wiering, who co-owns Papillon Press in Missouri, share similar frustrations. Trump’s decision to end duty exemptions on low-value imports has disrupted her stationery business and forced price hikes. “They’ve grossly misled the American public,” she said. “We get the bill, not foreign governments.”
For retirees like Jeffrey Sparks in Indiana, a lifelong Republican stronghold, the tariffs have become a breaking point. “With Trump, it’s all about the art of the deal. He doesn’t realize what the impact is on regular folk,” he said, lamenting higher prices and what he calls a lack of accountability from his party.
Auto workers in Michigan say the uncertainty is hitting them directly. Larissa Peterson, who works in parts manufacturing, said sales have dropped, hours have been cut, and workers fear layoffs. “Everyone is on edge,” she said. “The tariffs have done nothing but damage every single person I work with.”
Once touted as a tool to restore U.S. manufacturing, Trump’s tariffs are now seen by many as a burden that threatens businesses, jobs, and household budgets. With inflation biting and discontent spreading, even some of the president’s supporters say the costs of his “favourite policy” are becoming impossible to ignore.