As President-elect Trump prepares to enter the White House, a majority of Americans in a new poll say they are bracing for four years of domestic economic policies that will disproportionately benefit high-income earners.
Fifty-five percent of the public — including 51 percent of whites and 63 percent of non-white Americans — are convinced that Trump’s administration will line the pockets of the rich and benefit Wall Street, while only 21 percent believe the incoming Republican president will help poorer Americans, according to the latest Monmouth University poll.
But the poll also suggested that Trump will try to help average Americans. A full 61 percent of the public believe it is likely that Trump will champion policies that focus on benefitting the middle class, and 54 percent believe the new Republican Congress will cooperate on such legislation.
For comparison, only 30 percent of voters felt Congress would ratify policies to help the middle class after Obama began his second term in 2013.
Trump has promised to reduce the business tax rate to 15 percent and push for child care tax breaks, in addition to pledging to bring back middle-class manufacturing jobs by renegotiating trade deals and penalizing companies for outsourcing.
But only 26 percent believe President Obama’s successor will help the middle class “a lot” during the course of his presidency. Forty percent believe middle-income households will see slight improvements.
“It is not clear whether the middle class will be better off than they are now when the dust settles on the Trump presidency, but the public is largely in agreement on who they think will be —the already rich and powerful,” said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute.
Trump will be sworn in on Friday with just 34 percent of Americans holding a favorable view of him, according to the same survey. Forty-six percent of the public remains skeptical of the incoming president, while 20 percent chose to reserve judgment for now. A separate CNN/ORC poll released Tuesday showed Trump entering office with an approval rating of 40 percent.
The Monmouth University poll of 801 U.S. adults was conducted from Jan. 12-15. Results contain a margin of error plus or minus 3.5 percent.
