Whopping 84 Percent of Americans Wearing Coronavirus Masks, But How Many Trump Fans Are?

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More than eight in ten Americans said they wear masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, according to a new poll. But how high is compliance among supporters of President Donald Trump, who has consistently refused to wear a face covering in public?

According to the latest poll from The Economist/YouGov, 84 percent of respondents say they have worn a face mask in public, a result that was remarkably consistent across every subgroup — even Trump supporters.

The highest compliance with masking guidelines was among supporters of former Vice President Joe Biden at 94 percent, but even Trump fans — many of whom have made resistance to mask-wearing a point of pride — 78 percent say they have worn a mask. The other 22 percent, it would appear, are on a mission to show up at Costco and be filmed making a scene.

That rate of compliance is encouraging, and is at or near the level that some researchers say is necessary to defeat the virus. But the poll did not gauge how consistent the compliance is, nor account for other potential causes for error.

For example, there were some other seemingly contradictory results elsewhere in the poll. Support for a mask mandate was significantly lower than actual mask compliance, with 71 percent overall supporting a mask mandate, including just 34 percent of Trump supporters. That’s not all that surprising.

But when respondents were asked when it would be safe to end social distancing measures and reopen the economy, 35 percent of Trump supporters said it is safe to do so now, almost triple the overall percentage. Similarly, 40 percent of Trump supporters said it’s safe to open the national economy now, versus just 15 percent of all Americans who said the same. And 61 percent of Trump supporters said they aren’t worried, or worry very little, about contracting the coronavirus.

Trump was captured in one still photo wearing a mask, but has since refused to wear one, and has denounced the idea of a national mask mandate.