A new American Barometer survey found that 31 percent of Americans say President Trump should not intervene in the decisions of private businesses when asked what action the president should take after General Motors announced plans to cut jobs and close factories in the U.S.
Twenty-one percent of respondents said Trump should negotiate with Congress to help GM with financial incentives to save jobs, while 19 percent said the president should take away GM’s federal subsidies and tax credits.
Thirteen percent said Trump should work to lessen new tariffs on raw material that increase manufacturing costs.
Eight percent said the president should work with United Auto Workers to impose pressure on the automobile giant, and another 8 percent said Trump should slap tariffs on all cars manufactured outside of the U.S.
The auto company announced last week that it plans to slash 15,000 jobs and close four auto factories in the U.S.
Trump blasted the announcement, threatening to end the federal tax credit for GM’s electric vehicles.
“Should Donald Trump do something? I would argue that he already has,” Republican pollster Brett Loyd told Hill.TV’s Joe Concha on “What America’s Thinking,” referring to Trump’s comments toward the company.
“He’s already started doing something about this. He’s already talking about it, and we’re already talking about what Donald Trump has done in his tweet,” he continued.
GM CEO Mary Barra met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Wednesday and Thursday to defend the company’s move.
The American Barometer is a daily survey conducted by the HarrisX polling company on behalf of Hill.TV.
The poll was conducted on Dec. 1 and 2 among 1,000 registered voters. The sampling margin or error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
— Julia Manchester
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