When you see surveys that supposedly ask the same question, you might wonder why the results vary over a wide range. Christine Zhang and Ruth Igielnik, for The New York Times, show how pollsters frame their questions can have that effect, in the context of tariff approval.
A generic question about tariffs showed favorability ratings below half of respondents, whereas polls that mentioned China produced higher favorability.
So if policymakers use poll results in their decision-making, this should emphasize the importance of good sampling, or at least skepticism about who’s asking the questions.
