Poll: Majority of Americans approve of Trump aid to farmers

More than half of Americans approve of President Trump’s decision to send billions of dollars in aid to farmers affected by new retaliatory tariffs, according to a CBS News poll released Sunday.

Fifty-six percent of respondents said that they support the plan, including three-quarters of Republicans and a third of Democrats, according to the survey, which was conducted from July 26-28.

The Trump administration announced on Thursday that it would send as much as $12 billion in emergency relief to farmers affected by recent retaliatory tariffs implemented as part of an ongoing trade war.

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Trump has faced criticism for imposing steep tariffs on key U.S. trading partners, including the European Union, Mexico, Canada and China. But according to the CBS poll, 43 percent of Americans approve of his handling of trade.

That number closely mirrors the president’s overall approval rating, which sits just above 43 percent, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average.

Among those surveyed whose jobs directly depend on agriculture and farming, 42 percent approve of Trump’s handling of trade issues, the CBS poll found. 

When asked about Trump’s handling of the economy overall, the poll found, his approval is even higher, coming in at 50 percent.

More Americans are also optimistic about the economy over the next year, according to the poll. Forty percent of those surveyed said they were optimistic about the economy, versus 34 percent who said otherwise. 

But a quarter of Americans are also uncertain about the future of the economy, and attitudes are largely divided along party lines.

Fifty-six percent of Democratic respondents said they are pessimistic about the economy over the next year, compared to 75 percent of Republicans, who said they are optimistic.

The CBS News poll surveyed 2,420 adults from July 26-28. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.