(CNN) President Donald Trump's trade wars may be something he believes in, but it doesn't seem to be a political winner. Unlike many issues on which Trump has seesawed on over the years, Trump has been generally consistent in his protectionist stance on trade. He seemed to use that to his advantage in the 2016 election, during which he went after Democrat Hillary Clinton, who tended to have more of a free trade record.

Polling during his presidency suggests, however, that most Americans don't really care about trade policy and have turned against Trump's argument for a protectionist trade policy.

Trump, of course, is hoping to get his job approval rating up. It's generally been stuck in the high 30s to low 40s. The problem for Trump is that Americans typically regard trade as one of the least important issues. Just 31% of Americans told Gallup late last year that it was an extremely important issue for the President and Congress to take up in 2019. That was tied for the lowest of any issue. The Pew Research Center found that only 39% said global trade was a top policy for them in 2019. That was the lowest of any issue polled. A miniscule 1% said trade was their most important issue for 2020 in a CNN open-ended question taken in March.

Not surprisingly, Trump's trade wars have not moved his numbers at all. Trump started initiating tariffs of all sorts during the first half of 2018. This notably included a tariff on aluminum and steel, which was just lifted from Canada and Mexico . Before he ordered tariffs on aluminum and steel on most countries in March 2018, his approval rating in the FiveThirtyEight aggregate among voters was 43%. Six months later, it was 42% -- where Trump's approval rating also stands today.

But while Trump's trade wars haven't really moved his overall numbers, they do seem to have shifted views about him on trade and the larger conversation about trade policy in the United States.

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