More Americans trust Democrats than GOP to lower drug prices

More Americans trust Democrats to bring down drug prices than Republicans and President Trump, according to a new poll.

The Axios–SurveyMonkey poll found 35 percent of respondents said they trusted Democrats to lower prescription drug costs, while 30 percent said they don’t trust either party. Only 27 percent said they trusted Trump and Republicans.

{mosads}The poll showed a sharp partisan divide. Only 3 percent of Republicans or people who lean Republican said they trusted Democrats, while only 1 percent of Democrats or people who lean Democratic said they trust Republicans.

Almost three-quarters of self-declared independents — 72 percent — said they did not trust either party.

The poll also found that Americans don’t have confidence that Trump will deliver on his promise to bring down drug costs. The president vowed on the 2016 campaign trail to take on high drug prices. He accused drug companies of “getting away with murder,” and his administration has been rolling out a variety of proposals intended to help.

Yet only 15 percent of respondents said they were “very confident” and 39 percent said they were “not at all confident” that the president will deliver. 

Trump has mainly used his bully pulpit to try and shame the industry into price cuts. He’s met with CEOs of major drug companies and used his Twitter account to call out specific companies for pricing increases. He’s also rewarded companies by tweeting praise for temporary price freezes.

According to the poll, 32 percent of people said that strategy will not be effective at all.

Drug prices have spiked over the last decade, putting a pinch on consumers who have not seen wages keep pace with the hikes. Polls consistently show significant voter outrage over drug prices and that it’s a bipartisan issue.

The new Axios poll surveyed 2,798 adults with a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points.