MILWAUKEE — On the heels of Election Day in Wisconsin, Marquette Law School released its latest poll.
It covered the Trump Administration, its policies, and a range of other political topics.
The poll was conducted March 17–27 and surveyed 1,021 adults nationwide and had a margin of error +/- 3.5 percentage points.
As President Trump announced new tariffs Wednesday, the poll revealed 89% of Democrats believe tariffs will hurt the economy.
In contrast, 52% of Republicans think the tariffs will help the economy.
Director of the Marquette Law School Poll, Charles Franklin, said that 52% is noteworthy.
“When Donald Trump—who’s got a high approval rating among Republicans—can only convince barely half of Republicans to go along with him on it, I think that’s a real sign that if you’re in the White House, you should worry a little bit about how this will play with your most important base of voters,” said Franklin.
Similarly, Franklin indicated a slight change in how Republicans are feeling about the economy, and how it will fare in response to the Trump Administration policies.
“Republicans are still positive,” he said. “Over about 60 percent say he’ll lower inflation, but that’s well down from the 70-ish percent that we saw in December.”
According to the poll, the percentage of people saying the country is headed in the right direction has more than doubled since last fall, going from 20% in October to 42% in March.
The percentage of people saying the country is on the wrong track has declined from 80% in October to 58% in March.
One thing Franklin said he’s watching closely is Trump’s approval rating in relation to Elon Musk.
While the President’s approval rating only declined slightly in March compared to January, the poll found that Musk’s personal favorability is at 38%. Conversely, 60% of those surveyed have an unfavorable view of Musk.
“So, I think it shows that Musk is not adding to the administration,” said Franklin. “That his presence is a figure who’s less well liked than the President himself, and that inevitably is going to pull down the President’s administration’s image a bit.”
The poll also found that disapproval of the Democratic Party and Democrats in Congress has increased and is stronger than disapproval of Republicans.
View the full results here.
