'56% Of Voters Believe That Trump's Tariff Policies Are Harming The Economy': Dritan Nesho

Forbes Breaking News

On "Forbes Newsroom," HarrisX Founder and CEO Dritan Nesho discussed voters' attitudes towards President Trump's tariffs in a new Harvard CAPS/Harris poll.

Transcript

00:00And something we've been keeping a close eye on are the tariffs really ever since Liberation Day.

00:06President Trump has always been a fan of, for decades now, tariffs, saying that he thinks that they are a good idea.

00:12He announced sweeping tariffs on Liberation Day, and Forbes actually has a tracker of his tariff policies.

00:19And since Liberation Day, he has flip-flopped over two dozen times when it comes to tariffs.

00:24And he's even been called Taco Trump.

00:26Trump always chickens out with his tariff policy.

00:29He says that he's going to put these tariffs into effect, and then he gives the countries more time.

00:35Now he kicked the can down the road.

00:36It was going to be the reciprocal tariffs were going to go into effect early July.

00:41Now it's August 1st.

00:43Are Americans happy with these tariffs?

00:45What do they think about them?

00:46Because the economists I've talked to all say a tariff is a tax on the American consumer.

00:52And if Americans are concerned about their pocketbook, if they're concerned with their prices, the cost of living,

00:58what does that mean for them?

01:01Well, simply put, 56% of voters believe that Trump's tariff policies are harming the economy

01:09rather than boosting the economy.

01:13At the same time, though, they're quite split on whether they're confident that Trump's policies,

01:19including tariffs, will lead to stronger economic growth versus, you know, the 46% who are not confident.

01:28So it's a mixed picture.

01:32The president is stable.

01:33He's holding his baseline.

01:35But by and large, voters have always been leery of tariffs and the strategic ambiguity that the administration is preserving

01:44by applying tariffs, then pulling back, applying, then pulling back.

01:48I mean, it's literally a negotiation tool for them, has the benefit of, you know, having the markets wait and see all the way to the last minute,

02:00not jump to conclusions because they don't necessarily want to get burned.

02:05And Trump is as likely to change his mind as he is to stay the course.

02:10But at the same time, in the substance, everyone is concerned about these tariffs.

02:15And they realize that recalibrating the global economic system and the global economic order,

02:20this is a very, very risky endeavor that might actually bring back inflation,

02:27potentially swing the country into a recession.

02:30Americans, remember, don't think that we are in a recession.

02:3356% say that the economy is doing good, but it's right at the border and it could go either way.

02:42So, again, it's very much split down the middle when it comes to economics and when it comes to the tariff issues.

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