Story highlights
66% say the tax bill does more to help the wealthy than the middle class
Democrats and Republicans have polar-opposite views on the bill
Trump's 35% approval is a new low in CNN polling, below previous first-year presidents at this point
With the House of Representatives set to vote on the Republican tax reform bill Tuesday before sending it to the Senate and then the President’s desk for signing on Wednesday, the plan faces growing opposition and a widespread perception that it will benefit the wealthy more than the middle class, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS.
Opposition to the bill has grown 10 points since early November, and 55% now oppose it. Just 33% say they favor the GOP’s proposals to reform the nation’s tax code.
Two-thirds see the bill as doing more to benefit the wealthy than the middle class (66%, vs. 27% who say it’ll do more to benefit the middle class) and almost four in 10 (37%) say that if the bill becomes law, their own family will be worse off. That’s grown five points since early November. Just 21% say they’ll be better off if the bill becomes law.
President Donald Trump, the bill’s salesperson-in-chief, lands at an overall 35% approval rating in this poll, his worst mark yet in CNN polling by one point. Trump’s approval ratings continue to be the lowest for any modern president at this point in his presidency. As of December of their first year in office, all first-time elected presidents back to Eisenhower have approval ratings of 49% or higher except for Trump.
More than six in 10 (63%) see the tax bill as leaving the President and his family better off. Just 5% think it harms the Trump clan. And disapproval of the President’s handling of taxes has risen six points in the last month, to 57%.
Almost three-quarters, 73%, say the President should release his tax returns for public review, about the same share that said so as his inauguration approached in January.
Overall, Americans see health care and averting a government shutdown as higher priorities than passing tax reform, but among Republicans, taxes top the congressional to-do list. Overall, 17% call tax reform the top priority for Congress, below the 30% who prioritize health care and 23% who say Congress should focus on passing a bill to avoid a shutdown. Just 10% cited infrastructure improvements in the poll conducted Thursday through Sunday, before a train derailment in Washington state Monday morning. Among Republicans, 29% call taxes their top priority, 24% health care, 19% immigration and 18% averting a shutdown.
