The best antidote to hot takes is hard data, and the latest Daily Kos/Civiqs poll is here with your cure. This survey of 1,505 adults was conducted online from March 28-30 and reveals that 51% of Americans disapprove of how Donald Trump has handled the response to the coronavirus. Even more Americans—57%—say the U.S. government acted too slowly to respond to the pandemic, including 18% of Republicans.
Other noteworthy findings in this month’s poll include:
- The majority of Americans (69%) support a national quarantine, with 44% strongly supporting.
- 67% of Americans are spending nearly every day at home, leaving only for exercise or essential items.
- 82% have recently had difficulty buying household items or have experienced grocery shortages.
- A whopping 94% of Americans are practicing social distancing.
Additional issues surveyed include approval of state and local coronavirus responses, support for the recently passed coronavirus stimulus bill, and the breadth and depth of the economic impacts of the coronavirus outbreak on peoples’ jobs and income.
This latest survey’s numbers reveal that Americans are displeased with Trump’s and the federal government’s response to this crisis. This data also indicates a significant partisan divide in attitudes toward coronavirus-related issues. While only 44% of Americans and just 8% of Democrats approve of how Trump is responding to the pandemic, 89% of Republican approve of his response. And while 77% of Democrats are more worried about the impacts of the coronavirus on Americans’ health and our medical system, just 25% of Republicans are more worried about those impacts and 69% of them are more concerned instead about the pandemic’s impact on jobs, income, and the economy.
This poll provides additional evidence that frequent Fox News viewers are deeply disconnected from mainstream Americans. While just 23% of Americans are completely satisfied with the federal government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, 54% of faithful Fox viewers feel that level of satisfaction. And while 57% of Americans believe the government responded too slowly to the pandemic, just 9% of frequent Fox viewers share that view, while 78% of them believe the government acted in a timely and responsible way.
Civiqs is a survey research firm that conducts scientific public opinion polls on the internet through its nationally representative online survey panel. Founded in 2013, Civiqs specializes in political and public policy polling. Results from Civiqs’ daily tracking polls can be found online at civiqs.com.
