In the run up to threatened new tariffs, the latest Marquette Law School Poll national survey finds that 58% of adults think tariffs hurt the U.S. economy, while 28% say tariffs help the economy and 14% say they don’t make much difference. Slightly more than half of Republicans, 52%, think tariffs help the economy, but 58% of independents say they hurt the economy, as do 89% of Democrats.
The public is increasingly skeptical of how the economy will fare, in terms of inflation, in response to President Donald Trump’s policies generally. A majority of adults, 58%, think Trump’s policies will increase inflation, 30% think his policies will decrease inflation and 12% think they will have no effect on inflation. Among Republicans, 62% think the policies will decrease inflation, a decline from 70% in late January and from 76% in December. Only 16% of independents think inflation will decrease, compared to 26% in January and 28% in December. Ninety-two percent of Democrats say Trump’s policies will increase inflation, an increase from 85% who said that in January and 82% in December.
Trump’s national job approval declined slightly in this late March survey to 46%, with 54% disapproval. In January, 48% approved and 52% disapproved. Trump continues to enjoy high approval among Republicans, 87%, hardly changed from 89% in January. His approval has slipped somewhat among independents, from 37% to 32%. Approval among Democrats is 10% in March compared to 9% in January.
Approval of how Elon Musk is handling his work in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) stands at 41%, with disapproval at 58%. Musk’s personal favorability is 38%, with 60% unfavorable.
The survey was conducted March 17-27, 2025, interviewing 1,021 adults nationwide, with a margin of error of +/-3.5 percentage points. Click here to view the full survey results.
