President Trump is promoting the emerging Republican tax plan as a big tax cut for the middle class that won't benefit wealthy people like himself, but according to a new poll for CBS News, people aren't buying the pitch. In the poll, 58 percent of respondents said the tax plan favors the wealthy, 18 percent said it favors the middle class, 5 percent pick the poor as primary beneficiaries, and 19 percent said it benefited everyone about equally. Even among Trump's most dedicated supporters, 19 percent said Trump's plan favors the rich and 35 percent said it favors the middle class. Trump himself was angry to learn recently that parts of his plan would raise taxes on the middle class, Bloomberg reports.
There was broader agreement that the U.S. economic system favors the wealthy — 73 percent overall, including 51 percent of Trump's most ardent supporters and 58 percent of self-described conservatives. And there was little appetite for deficit-busting tax cuts, as the GOP is considering: Only 21 percent supported tax cuts that raise the deficit, including 35 percent of top Trump supporters and Republicans; 39 percent favored cutting the deficit even if it means taxes stay the same; and 40 percent said neither tax cuts nor deficit reduction should be a priority.
The survey also found that people are really worried about Trump's handling of North Korea, favor stricter gun laws, back renegotiating NAFTA, are getting more polarized about Trump himself — 42 percent strongly oppose, 19 percent strongly support — and a 52 percent majority say Trump deserves no or little credit for the recent increase in the stock market. The poll, which you can peruse in detail, was conducted for CBS News by YouGov among 2,371 U.S. adults Oct. 11-13, and it has a margin of error of ±2.5 percent.
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