How do Americans feel about President Donald Trump’s tariffs? It’s hard to say, because it really depends on how you ask the question. However, they are confident that the U.S. will conclude a tariff deal with the European Union, just as it did with China, data from the latest I&I/TIPP Poll show.

Voters seem to have a kind of love-hate relationship with Trump’s taxes imposed on imports, even as a means of encouraging more domestic production and shrinking the U.S. trade deficit.

In the latest national online I&I/TIPP Poll, taken from May 28-30, we asked a number of trade-related questions, beginning with: “Do you support or oppose placing tariffs on foreign goods if the goal is to protect American jobs and industries?”

Couched that way, a solid 53% of American adults said they either would “strongly support” (26%) or “somewhat support” (27%) tariffs on imports, if it protected jobs and industries.

Of the remainder, 36% said they would either “strongly oppose” (19%) or “somewhat oppose” (17%) tariffs, while 11% were not sure.

As is often the case, the political differences were sharp.

Democrats showed only mild backing (36% support, 54% oppose) for tariffs to protect jobs and industries, compared to stronger backing from Republicans (75% support, 17% oppose) and independents (46% support, 38% oppose).

Intriguingly, this result reverses the long-term pattern of Republican Party support for free trade (as measured by lower overall trade barriers, including lower tariffs), versus Democrats’ traditional support for managed trade (including quotas and tariffs).

Is this reversal just the Trump effect? That is, for Democrats, “If Trump is for it, I must be against it?” Or has there really been an ideological realignment?

The answer may be a bit of both. While Trump does have high negatives from Democrats on many issues, he has also poached working-class votes from Dems by vowing to help depressed industrial-belt economies by imposing tariffs in order to boost investment in the U.S.

As a non-doctrinaire politician, Trump appeals to a powerful strain of American economic pragmatism, something he shares with many Americans.

For instance, among self-described conservatives, 46% said benefits of higher tariffs outweigh the costs, while just 13% of moderates and 14% of liberals agreed. So, yes, there has been a realignment of sorts.

But conservative intellectuals still regard tariffs and other trade controls with suspicion if not outright hostility.

As economists Michael Bordo and Mickey Levy recently wrote: “History is full of evidence that tariffs harm economic performance.”

Meanwhile, I&I/TIPP changed the wording for a second question: “Tariffs can raise prices on imported goods for American consumers. Which of the following best reflects your view?”

Only 25% agreed that “The benefits of tariffs are worth the higher prices,” while a solid majority of 56% sided with “The higher prices hurt working families and outweigh the benefits.” Just 8% answered “I don’t think tariffs affect prices much,” and 11% were not sure.

So the public seems to have a bit of a split personality when it comes to tariffs. Americans strongly support (53%) imposing tariffs to save industries and jobs, but at the same time 56% believe that higher prices from tariffs hurt working families and outweigh whatever benefits there are.

I&I/TIPP also asked voters how they view ongoing tariff-trade talks with China and the European Union.

Just 11 days after the I&I/TIPP Poll concluded on May 30, Trump announced a deal with China that would put a 55% tariff on all Chinese imported goods, and a 10% tariff on U.S. goods sold in China.

“OUR DEAL IS DONE, SUBJECT TO FINAL APPROVAL WITH PRESIDENT XI AND ME,” wrote Trump on Truth Social on June 11.

So, voters in the I&I/TIPP Poll foresaw the successful conclusion of a U.S.-China deal. Sort of.

Of those who were asked “How confident are you that the administration will successfully negotiate a tariff deal with China?” 48% responded they were either “very” (20%) or “somewhat” (28%) confident, versus 39% who said they were “not very” (22%) or “not confident at all” (17%). Another 13% weren’t sure.

How about the important trade talks ongoing with the EU? They have yet to end, but voters appear even more sanguine than they were about talks with China.

A majority of 51% said they thought U.S.-EU trade talks would end with a deal, while 35% said they wouldn’t.

Are they right? Recent bullish assessments over Trump trade talks made recently by EU officials point that way.

For instance, EU Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis recently said talks were “making progress,” but warned that the EU will be “ready to take measures to protect our economic interests and our businesses should we not be able to find this solution.”

Still, the EU has been sounding more positive in recent weeks, as incoming U.S. data show little inflation from tariffs so far, and even the World Bank has been forced to admit that global trade is not “a level playing field.”

As noted above, just over half of all Americans expect a deal to be done. Maybe they believe the same man who wrote the best-selling book “The Art Of The Deal,” and then won the presidency twice, will also be able to successfully close the deal in his trade talks.

I&I/TIPP publishes timely, unique, and informative data each month on topics of public interest. TIPP’s reputation for polling excellence comes from being the most accurate pollster for the past six presidential elections.

Terry Jones is an editor of Issues & Insights. His four decades of journalism experience include serving as national issues editor, economics editor, and editorial page editor for Investor’s Business Daily.