Voters support Trump's plan on tariffs: Ipsos/Reuters poll

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's campaign pledge to raise tariffs on imports, especially those from China, is supported by a solid majority of American voters as the former president continues to dominate Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris when it comes to economic issues, a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Sunday shows.

Both Trump and Harris are talking about implementing tax cuts if elected in the Nov. 5 presidential election. But voters believe that Trump might actually be able to lower the monumental $35 trillion national debt that has ballooned under the the Biden-Harris administration with its inflation-fueling bills like the Inflation Reduction Act. US interest payments per year on the debt now amount to $1 trillion.

Some 56 percent of registered voters in the Sept. 11-12 poll said they would support a presidential candidate who wants to impose a 10 percent tariff on all imports and a 60 percent tariff on Chinese imports. Of those surveyed, 41 percent said they would oppose a president imposing such tariffs.

The poll had Harris five points above Trump nationally, although Reuters notes that the race is much tighter in the battleground states that will decide the election. Although Trump is seen as more fit to oversee the American economy. "This is what's keeping the election so close," said Karlyn Bowman, a political analyst with the American Enterprise Institute.

Bowman said Trump's advantage flows from the knowledge that the US economy boomed during his presidency and was only weakened by the Covid pandemic. He also claimed credit for putting China in its place and no longer getting away with unfair trade practices.

Although there has been much political fall-out from last week’s presidential debate – including demands that ABC investigate its media department for “rigging” the process – it didn’t dramatically change the polling numbers for either candidate. Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump has already said there will be no third debate with Harris, while CNN host Jake Tapper said Kamala Harris dodged debate questions. Despite what often looked like a three against one debate, Trump emerged as the winner at least with undecided voters in another Reuters survey.