Support for President Donald Trump's tariff policies has collapsed among the workers they were designed to help, falling by 25 percentage points among blue-collar workers over the past year, according to new polling data released in October 2026 by Echelon Insights and the Economic Innovation Group. The shift marks a decisive rejection of one of Trump's signature economic policies, with the very demographic Trump promised would benefit from a "golden age" of tariffs now firmly opposed to them.
The numbers tell a stark story. A poll conducted by the two groups in August 2025 showed blue-collar workers backed the tariffs by a narrow margin, but the latest survey reveals 58 percent now oppose them while only 36 percent still offer support. Across all workers, backing for the tariffs dropped from roughly 43 percent last year to just 34 percent, while opposition climbed from 50 percent to 59 percent. Meanwhile, 68 percent of those surveyed said the tariffs have driven up their cost of living. Inflation data underscores why sentiment has soured: the annualized inflation rate reached 3.7 percent in September, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics figures, while the producer price index rose 6.3 percent over the past year.
The report highlights that tariffs have become so unpopular that not even partisan loyalty can rescue them. Policy experts Jordan McGillis and John Lettieri from the Economic Innovation Group note in their analysis that "among GOP-voting workers, only 3 percent select tariffs as their top priority." Other elements of Trump's economic agenda face similar disapproval: large majorities of workers across both parties and all age groups said they oppose the federal government taking equity stakes in American companies, according to the poll. The Cato Institute reports that the Trump administration has "bought or seized shares of more than 30 private businesses" over the past two years, ranging from major firms like U.S. Steel to small mining operations.
The report traces the public's shift against tariffs to their tangible economic impact. A study released last week by the New York Federal Reserve concluded that consumer prices would have declined slightly over the past year if not for the economic effects of the tariffs, though America's war with Iran has also contributed to rising inflation. The analysis notes that Trump's decision to impose tariffs and launch trade wars with America's biggest trading partners "was not some grand plan backed by careful study and thoughtful analysis" but instead "sprung, half-baked, from the head of one man." Various post hoc attempts to justify the tariffs can and should be discarded, the report argues, given their demonstrated economic damage.
Looking ahead, the report says this polling is likely to be a major factor in next month's midterm elections and offers lessons for both political parties. For conservatives, the data should end the tariff experiment, which has proven both economically harmful and politically toxic—there's no reason to let a lame duck president continue on such a destructive path. Reversing the tariffs might also meaningfully reduce rising prices, which should be a no-brainer after the midterms regardless of which party controls Congress. For Democrats, the poll serves as a reminder that Americans reject government interference in business: they should promise to unwind the federal equity stakes taken under Trump and borrow old Republican talking points about government not picking winners and losers. The bottom line is clear: Americans are soundly rejecting the administration's big government economic policies.