President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025, en route to Joint Base Andrews, Md., as he returns from a trip to Florida. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
BISMARCK (North Dakota Monitor) — Support for President Donald Trump’s tariff and economic policies slipped in North Dakota since he took office, a new North Dakota Poll has found.
Asked whether they approved or disapproved of the U.S. Supreme Court decision to strike down Trump’s tariffs in February, 48% approved and 39% disapproved.
Approval for reversing the tariffs was strongest among those identifying as independents and Democrats and residents in the eastern half of the state.
The biggest approval of the decision came in Fargo/Cass County at 61%. A total of 88% of Democrats and 54% of independents also approved the decision to strike down the tariffs. A total of 59% of Republicans disapproved of the Supreme Court decision.
The February decision by the U.S. Supreme Court said the president lacked the authority under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose sweeping, across-the-board retaliatory tariffs.
“I think this reflects the fact that North Dakotans are starting to see the impacts of tariffs on the everyday things they buy,” said John Bitzan, Menard Family director of the Sheila and Robert Challey Institute for Global Innovation and Growth at North Dakota State University.
The numbers indicate a sharp drop in support from North Dakota Poll numbers released last August, which showed 60% supported the use of tariffs and 57% approved of Trump trade policies.
Another North Dakota Poll in December last year found 53% of voting-age residents reported everyday necessities like groceries and gas had become less affordable.
“Although the full costs of the tariffs have not yet been passed on to consumers by retailers, larger portions get passed on to consumers the longer they stay in place,” Bitzan said. “While the IEEPA tariffs have been removed, at least a 10% tariff still remains in place on most products until the end of July.”
Bitzan said that doesn’t guarantee other tariffs won’t be implemented to take their place and that 50% tariffs on steel, aluminum and copper also remain in place, impacting costs.Overall, Trump’s approval ranking remains high in North Dakota. The poll found 56% approve of his performance, with 39% disapproving.
The highest approvals came in western North Dakota, with 73% happy with his performance; the lowest was in Fargo/Cass County where only 35% approved. Independent respondents were somewhat split, with 39% approving, 48% disapproving, and 13% not sure.
“Trump’s very popular. He won a resounding percentage of the vote all three times he ran in North Dakota, so that’s not surprising,” said Mark Jendrysik, a professor in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of North Dakota.
“I think the main interesting point was the obvious difference between Cass County and the rest of the state, which I don’t think is that much of a surprise, but it’s definitely growing in importance as Fargo grows larger and that area becomes a higher percentage of the state’s overall population,” Jendrysik said.
Most national polls in the past few weeks have Trump’s approval ranking somewhere between 32-45% and disapprovals between 53-67%.
“It’s all mirroring the national trends, but it’s just that Trump started out at a much higher level here in North Dakota, and obviously remains more popular here than nationally,” Jendrysik said.
A total of 55% of voting-age North Dakotans approve of Trump’s handling of the economy, while 41% disapprove.
Again, the highest approvals were in western North Dakota at 65% and the least favorable numbers were in Fargo/Cass County where only 38% approve of the president’s economic policies.
The Iran war and national security led as the top concern of North Dakotans at 26%.
“The war issue is an interesting one,” Jendrysik said. “The longer it goes on, the more it becomes top of mind for people, but right now it hasn’t … beyond the price of gasoline and diesel going up … it hasn’t had a major effect on people’s lives.”
War concern was followed by several others in a similar range: 17% felt that immigration is the top issue facing the country, 14% said inflation and affordability, 13% healthcare, and 12% the economy and employment. Only 2% said trade and tariffs was the top issue.
Bitzan said if you batch some of the most similar ones together like trade, economy, affordability, they end up being the second most important issue.
“I think this shows that affordability is on the top of people’s minds due to the price increases they have experienced over the last year due to tariffs and concerns over energy prices with the recent conflict,” Bitzan said.
The North Dakota Poll was conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy, Inc. of Jacksonville, Florida from April 15 through April 19, 2026. A total of 625 North Dakota adult residents were interviewed statewide by telephone as part of the survey.
The North Dakota Poll, sponsored by the North Dakota News Cooperative, is the only regular, nonpartisan statewide survey of eligible North Dakota voters and consumers.
The North Dakota News Cooperative is a nonprofit news organization providing reliable and independent reporting on issues and events that impact the lives of North Dakotans. The organization increases the public’s access to quality journalism and advances news literacy across the state. For more information about NDNC or to make a charitable contribution, please visit newscoopnd.org. Michael Standaert can be reached at michael@newscoopnd.org.
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