Approval of Government’s Coronavirus Response Craters in New Poll — But Trump Ticks Up Slightly

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Approval of the federal government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic fell sharply in a new CNN poll, but President Donald Trump’s overall approval — while still in negative territory — improved slightly since the last poll.

With a death toll of nearly 13,000 and almost 400,000 reported cases in the United States, public opinion on the Covid-19 crisis continues to shift. In the new CNN poll conducted April 3-6, 55 percent of Americans said the federal government has done a “poor job preventing the spread of novel coronavirus, sometimes referred to as COVID-19, in the U.S.” versus 41 percent who said the government is doing a “good job.”

In CNN’s last poll, completed March 29, a slim plurality — 48 percent to 47 percent — said the government was doing a good job.

That represents a massive 15-point swing in net approval in just a week.

An even stronger majority, 69 percent, say the “Federal government should be doing more to address that shortage” of medical equipment and protective gear, with only 28 percent saying they’re doing enough. And a whopping 80 percent have come around to the idea that the worst of the pandemic is yet to come.

For Trump himself, the numbers are not great, but have improved slightly since the last CNN poll. Overall approval has ticked up to 44 percent versus 51 percent disapproval, from 43%-53% a month ago. Net approval of his handling of the coronavirus pandemic was unchanged, but folks with “no opinion” found one. Currently, 45 percent approve of Trump’s job on the coronavirus and 52 percent disapprove, versus 41%-48% last month.

And all of these numbers are a significant setback from two weeks ago, when Trump was riding high on a 60 percent approval of his coronavirus response and the highest net approval of his presidency in the Gallup tracking poll.

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