Working Class Weekly: Tariffs … and What Dems Should Do About Them

Working class voters have gone from cautiously supportive to more anxious and concerned by the costs of Trump’s tariffs over the past 3 months. So what should Democrats do?

We’re back this week with another update from the largest research effort to understand why working class voters are trending away from Democrats.

So far, we have shared initial impressions of the Democratic Party and Republican Party from the working class voters we’ve heard from across the country. Check those out if you’ve missed them so far.

This week, we’re discussing how working class voters’ views of the Trump tariffs have evolved over time – starting with cautious optimism and defending Trump’s plan, and gradually shifting to concern, anxiety, and even some outright anger. What we’ve heard reveals what a major opportunity Democrats have to regain positive economic perceptions, if Democrats stay focused on the economy and understand the importance of highlighting these tariffs’ harmful impact on the cost of living, local small businesses, and the overall economy.

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THE UPSHOT »

• President Trump’s tariffs are now universally known and widely seen as having a massive economic impact. Prior to “Liberation Day,” many of the working class voters we talked to had heard about Trump’s tariff plan and expressed cautious optimism they would help the economy. But after “Liberation Day,” with the stock market crashes and widespread coverage of the likely impact on prices, voters started to express concern and anxiety about the tariffs’ impact. These voters already know that Trump’s actions are what’s causing the fluctuations in the economy, not something else.

• Even when working class voters agree with the goals of the tariffs, they’re often expressing concerns with the chaos of their implementation or confusion at how indiscriminate they are. Many of the working class voters we’ve heard from have expressed hope that the tariffs could solve a wide range of perceived economic challenges (too few good working class jobs, high prices, etc.), but over and over, they express confusion at how Trump is targeting major trade allies and ignoring how much we rely on certain lower-cost foreign goods that are unlikely to be produced in the U.S.

Here is more of what we’ve heard:

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PRE-LIBERATION DAY: CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM

In the weeks leading up to Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” on April 2, many working class voters, especially those who voted for him, agreed with the goals of his tariffs and expressed openness to them, giving him credit for trying to bring more jobs back to American manufacturing and tackling unfair trade imbalances that help other nations at the expense of America. They expressed a willingness to tolerate short-term pain for what they hoped would be long-term gain.

“I personally am under a lot of burden, but I don't attribute that to the administration whatsoever. But I do feel very, very hopeful with Trump's tariffs. I think there are going to be some growing pains. I think there will be, like, a little bit of a crunch, but I am hopeful that in the long run, all of us will have more money in our pockets.” – Hispanic woman from Arizona (March 5)

“The market was going to crash just based on the trajectory that we were already in. And even with this, yes, it's going to crash. I think we're going to go through a little period of time where we're going to take a dip, but then, because of what he's doing, it's going to go right up and the economy's going to boom… Obviously nobody wants to be taxed more, but it's going to take a little dip, but then it's going to go up.” – Hispanic man from Nevada (March 12)

“Usually the government’s been doing the same shit for a long time, going left to right, left to right. It's just a swing. But it's different now, you know, the people that are in charge have rattled the entire Earth, but they're doing things out, like, it's almost like thinking outside the box. You want to see something different. You want to see something that is different from the repeat that's been going on, so that even if it fails, at least it's something different. It's a different approach. And that's what the people need [like] the tariffs that you know, the government's pushing back to bring businesses money.” – Hispanic man from Nevada (March 12)

“Trump is trying to make changes. Will they work? I don’t know, I’m hoping they do. The economy, will things get cheaper? ... Right now it’s rough out there, we’re in the painful section of things – you feel bad for people complaining about the tariffs and the undocumented people who need to go back home, but things have to change and get better.” – White woman from North Carolina (March 18)

“[Tariffs] are affecting my business for the better, but my customers for the worse, because now they’re paying higher prices. But I’m making money off a higher margin. As a consumer as well, eventually it’s gonna hit me, when all the tariffs come in, but I think we have to get through it to see the end.” – White woman from North Carolina (March 18)

“Tariffs are kind of scary. He’s betting on it, which can be a little bit dangerous, but I know Canada kind of backed down and I think that’s what he’s banking on. I don’t think China will back down but they will eventually reach an agreement. And it will create a bunch of jobs and industries if he’s successful.” – Black man from North Carolina (March 18)

“I guess we will have to [accept higher prices], but I hope it works out and eventually prices start to go down, Trump is a really good business man so I trust he knows how to make a good deal.” – Hispanic woman from Florida (March 26)

“We have been tariffed by all other countries, so it is only fair we do the same in return. I hope to see us producing our own goods again, particularly necessities like basic medicine. We truly should not be relying on China, that hates us, to make our antibiotics.” – White man from Michigan (March 26)

POST-LIBERATION DAY: CONCERN AND ANXIETY

The shift after April 2 was notable. These voters were highly aware of the immediate negative downturn in the stock market, and they were knowledgeable about how much of the American economy – and the prices they themselves see when it comes time to take out their wallet – are tied to global trade. They know we get products they use all the time from abroad. They know we need to import food from other countries. They say over and over that there are certain things we simply are unlikely to make in America and need foreign manufacturers to provide. And they have started to express reservations about how Trump is enacting the tariffs, including concerns that they are too broad, not targeted appropriately, and causing economic chaos.

In focus groups with white women and Black and Asian American men in Georgia on April 9, even when voters generally liked Trump or had positive things to say about him, they were negative on the tariffs:

“As a small business, if we were to deal with someone overseas and put in, like, textile orders, and I want to get team uniforms made or something, and in the United States it costs a certain price, but it used to cost a certain price if I used someone overseas – Bangladesh, China, other countries – and I can get a very cheap cost and get shipment and get cargo to New York and still be profitable – for a small business owner, if you’re not a giant, you’re kind of getting screwed. That cost is gonna go to the consumer. Now the consumer’s not gonna pay that, because their job’s not giving them money, they didn’t get a raise at work. But everything else went up. That’s a whole domino effect. They’re not gonna buy, the small business is suffering, and someone wanting to make it successful in America, America is supposed to be about capitalism.” – Asian American man

“My retirement is down several thousands of dollars.” – White woman who explicitly said it was because of the tariffs

“To me, this whole tariffs thing has been an unforced error… Everything's in flux. People who were doing business overseas, it’s really wild.” – Black man

“Last night I was up talking with my momma and was explaining, hitting them with 104%, things from China will double in price? Oof.” – Black man

“I have a friend who has a furniture company, selling furniture from Asia. People already paid X amount, but now the tariffs are raising the price on him. He’s going to have to figure out the path forward.” – Asian American man

On April 14 and 15 in Virginia, it was much of the same:

“The goal, as I said, is to bring things back to our own country and produce as much as we can from within our own country, which is fine, but I feel like the world, we’re all connected, all the different countries. That the days of being self-sufficient, if you like, and just producing everything and you don’t need anything from anybody else, I feel like those days have gone, okay? I don’t know if you can really successfully bring it back again and block everybody out.” – White woman in Virginia Beach

“If you threaten people with tariffs, you affect the wages on certain things, like the stock market… At the end of the day, I think especially the way he's doing it, he’s not doing nothing but messing up the economy. We are untrustworthy as a country.” – Black man in Richmond

“I think it came on too fast. It's just driving all the costs up here, because everything’s up for me. I mean, I'm just like, you know, I'm by myself working, and I don't have the extra money to pay for that. My electric bill is gone, probably $50 a month more than it was last year, groceries are more, everything.” – White woman in Virginia Beach

“I don’t know that the tariffs will help me. And maybe it’s because I don’t understand it enough. I’ve tried to understand, you know, us charging them, but ultimately, the way I’m understanding it is it’s us as the consumer, if we’re wanting something that we don’t physically have here right now, I’m the one that’s going to pay that. And so maybe it’s because I don’t understand it, but I just don’t see that the tariffs are going to help me right now.” – White man in Virginia Beach

“I think he’s presenting to people is that it's supposed to bring jobs back to America, because we get so much stuff from China and all these other countries, like countries bringing, like, manufacturing jobs back to America. But I think that that’s just what he’s saying, and that’s not actually the goal, because if it was he would have put that infrastructure into place beforehand, but he didn’t. He just started tearing things with no backup plan. How he's actually going to bring those jobs over here? So I think it’s just really a stock market game for him.” – Black woman in Richmond

“Short term, you know, I think they hurt the middle class. They hurt the working class. You know, from my viewpoint, I like the long term plan. What’s the long term plan? Long term plan is to bring things back to the States. But it’s at what cost, right? And that’s where I get concerned… From my viewpoint, I wish it’d be a little more calculated, a little bit more cautious.” – White woman in Richmond

And this continued to be the trend on April 22, 23, and 24 among Rust Belt working class voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin:

“I think the tariffs are right. But their approach is wrong. He should be doing it more selective, but he’s doing everything all at once and it’s creating so much chaos.” – White man in Michigan

“Layoffs. Auto makers. Being in Michigan we all know the jobs are going away. 401ks going by the wayside. Here jobs that were promised a year or two ago, things are unstable with automakers wondering about the tariffs.” – White man in Michigan

“There are empty shelves in the dollar store. Imports aren’t coming in from China so they are empty.” “It won’t be a dollar store anymore.” “Yeah, it will be a five dollar store, man.” – Exchange between two white men in Michigan

“I think it’ll go up significantly, there’s already the fear of it. I own a flower shop and I’m already getting charges before the tariffs have been passed. Businesses like mine don’t have a lot of margin for markups. I think it’s gonna affect groceries, everyday living supplies, and for businesses like mine that aren’t essentials, it will affect us significantly… We’ve had to change pricing and not get as frequent of orders to make it as best we can.” – White woman in Wisconsin

“The tariffs, I don’t know yet how the China ones would affect us. But I know there is already a 25% tariff for Japan, and me and my husband are really big in motorsports, and the bulk of the car parts that we buy come directly from Japan, so I know that is definitely going to impact us with our racing season coming up.” – White woman in Wisconsin

“I want to buy a new PC, a new laptop for my brother, and it’s become more expensive because all of it is from China. I was waiting, but because they put tariffs and all of that is coming from China, I probably will pay more.” – White man in Pennsylvania

WHAT IT ALL MEANS

No issue has broken through with working class voters over the past couple of months as intensely as Trump’s tariffs, and it is clear how – as they have gone from concept to reality – the tariffs have increasingly given working class people significant economic anxiety. The growing sentiment is that the tariffs may not work as Trump intended — and during the Republicans’ experiment with the economy, people’s savings are shrinking and prices are risings on goods. Working class voters who supported Trump in 2024 have consistently told us they voted for him because they believed he would lower their prices; instead, they are now directly connecting fears of higher prices to his own tariff actions and expressing belief that there is no real plan for how and when to bring prices back down.

In addition to what we’ve heard in these focus groups, our poll of working class voters in mid-April found that these voters overwhelmingly see them as a huge new tax on regular people.

Clearly, the tariffs offer a major opportunity to reshape voters’ economic perceptions. By remaining focused on the impacts of Trump’s tariffs, Democrats can erode Trump and Republicans’ standing on the economy – an issue that has historically made their brand strong with working class people. Tell the stories of how the tariffs are impacting small businesses. Say what products are getting more expensive because of the tariffs, leaning as much as you can on localized examples to illustrate the issue. Talk about which industries are cutting jobs or raising prices because of the tariffs. Be specific, and be relentless.

Democrats can also use this issue to better frame their own economic agenda, by contrasting the harm the tariffs are doing with how their own commitment to lower prices and higher wages could help working people.The longer Trump digs in on tariffs, the more he and Republicans could lose support and trust among the very voters who powered their rise to power.