Speaker of the House Paul Ryan speaks about the Republicans' proposed rewrite of the tax code for individuals and corporations, at the Capitol in Washington on Sept. 27. He is flanked by other top congressional Republicans. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo Poll: Majority think GOP tax plan will benefit the wealthy

A majority of Americans say that Republican plans for changing the tax code will favor the wealthy.

According to a new CBS News Nation Tracker poll, 58 percent of Americans think the current proposals would favor the wealthy, 19 percent think reform would treat everyone equally, and 18 percent think the GOP plan would favor the middle class. Those feelings run counter to attempts by President Donald Trump and congressional leadership to frame the debate as being all about financial relief for the middle class.


The president has tried to court Democrats during the administration's rollout of the tax plan, reportedly hoping that even a couple of Democratic votes could make up for opposition from members of his own party to elements of the plan.

Among the president's supporters in the CBS poll, nine in 10 either like or are willing to accept the idea of the president making deals with Democrats, in principle. On the other side, a majority of the president's opponents like or would accept Democrats cutting deals with him, with many saying "deal-making is how Washington should work.”

Trump has billed his effort as a Christmas gift for the middle class, but as POLITICO previously reported, the current situation with the tax code makes it hard for him to keep his promise that the wealthy would not benefit from reform.

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Respondents were also asked about Trump's relationship with congressional Republicans, a topic that has received considerable attention since Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said Trump was risking World War III and that his staff was essentially forced to become an adult day care service.

Among Republicans, 39 percent feel their party's congressional members "don't like" Trump and are actively trying to undermine him, while 37 percent say Republicans on Capitol Hill don't like the commander in chief but pretend to have an affinity for him so they can get their agenda passed.

Overall, 56 percent of respondents said that congressional Republicans do not like the president, but pretend to get along with him, 29 percent say Republicans do not like him and undermine his agenda and 15 percent say Republicans in Congress like the president and want to help him.

The CBS News poll was conducted by YouGov using a nationally representative sample of 2,371 U.S. adults reached from Oct. 11 through Oct. 13. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.5 percent.