Alarming Poll: Majority of Republicans Say Was ‘Just Bad Luck’ Trump Got Covid — And He Should Keep Doing Rallies

Alex Wong/Getty Images

President Donald Trump’s ongoing COVID-19 infection has not dampened most Republicans’ enthusiasm for Trump’s packed rallies, nor gotten them to rethink Trump’s consistent flouting and mockery of precautions like masking and social distancing, a new poll suggests.

A rather stunning (if not very surprising) new Yahoo! News/YouGov poll — taken in the days following Trump’ announcement that he and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for Covid-19  and subsequent airlift to Walter Reed Medical Center — shows that the ordeal has not had the same impact on Republicans as it has on everyone else.

Prior to his diagnosis, Trump consistently mocked the wearing of masks, including days earlier on the debate stage, and seldom wore one in public — while holding indoor and outdoor rallies featuring packed, mostly-maskless crowds. And a growing list of Republicans and individuals from the White House has also tested positive — many of whom attended or covered a Rose Garden event announcing the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, at which most did not wear masks.

Those events appear to have sunk in for most Americans. An overwhelming 63 percent of all respondents to the poll saw Trump’s diagnosis as a cautionary tale about taking the coronavirus seriously, with 56 percent saying “I was already taking the risk much more seriously than President Trump was,” and another 7 percent saying “It was a wake-up call for me about how serious the risk is.”

But among Republicans, a solid 53 percent majority said “It was just bad luck for the President and I don’t face a serious risk.”

An even greater share of Republicans — 58 percent — said it was “appropriate for President Trump to hold crowded campaign rallies during the pandemic.”

By contrast, only 28 percent of all respondents said the same.

And a slightly smaller 51 percent majority of Republicans said that Trump should not suspend in-person campaign rallies for the remaining weeks of the campaign, in contrast to 52 percent of all respondents who say he should not.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet Newsletter
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!