The best antidote to hot takes is hard data, and the latest Daily Kos/Civiqs poll is here with your cure. This survey of 1,600 adults was conducted online from April 11-14 and reveals that 54% of Americans disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling the coronavirus response. A further 56% of Americans are not satisfied with the U.S. government’s current response to the pandemic. Well over half (57%) of Americans now say that coronavirus has been reported in their local area, and one in four (23%) know someone who has been infected.
Other noteworthy findings in this month’s poll include:
- The majority of Americans (52%) support requiring states to implement vote-by-mail for the November 2020 elections.
- Most Americans (59%) support a national quarantine, with 37% strongly supporting.
- Joe Biden bests Trump in a head-to-head matchup, 48-44%.
- 67% of Americans are spending nearly every day at home, leaving only for exercise or essential items.
- 83% have recently had difficulty buying household items or have experienced grocery shortages.
- A staggering 8% of American adults have filed for unemployment over the past month; an additional 4%—roughly 10 million people—have tried to file but have not been successful.
Additional issues surveyed include faith in the accuracy of the official count of coronavirus deaths in the U.S.; the economic impact of the response to the outbreak; Trump’s job approval as president; and Fox News and MSNBC viewership.
This poll’s findings demonstrate that, while most Americans disapprove of how Trump is handling the response to the coronavirus pandemic, their opinions on the matter split dramatically along party lines, with 92% of Democrats and 53% of independents disapproving vs. just 9% of Republicans.
This month’s survey also provides strong evidence that frequent Fox News viewers are deeply disconnected from mainstream Americans. While just 42% of all Americans approve of Trump’s response to the coronavirus outbreak, a whopping 91% of faithful Fox viewers approve. And while 49% of Americans believe networks should broadcast Trump’s coronavirus press briefings live every day, 89% of frequent Fox viewers believe they should.
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.
