President Donald Trump’s numbers on coronavirus are getting worse. The latest ABC News/Ipsos poll out Friday shows that just 33% approve of his handling of the pandemic, while 67% disapprove.
Of the about 350 polls on the subject, this is the highest percentage of Americans who disapprove of Trump’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak.
If you were to look at the average of polls, it’s pretty clear that as coronavirus cases surge in the US, the public is becoming more and more disenchanted with how Trump and his administration are handling the issue.
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In the average, Trump’s disapproval rating stands at 57%. That’s the highest it’s been this entire pandemic. Keep in mind that this average takes into account polls from last month, when the situation in America wasn’t as bad as it is today. Other polls could begin to look more like the Ipsos poll.
Meanwhile, Trump’s approval rating is just south of 40% in the average. That’s the worst it’s been during the entire pandemic.
Back in late March, Trump had a positive net approval (approval-disapproval) rating when it came to handling coronavirus. Since then, it’s all been downhill with no signs of stopping.
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This mirrors a drop in Trump’s overall approval rating, which stands at 40%. That’s the worst it’s been since the government shut down in early 2019. Trump’s overall approval rating and his handling of the coronavirus are clearly linked.
When you dig into the numbers a little bit deeper, you see Trump’s coronavirus standing is tumbling with pretty much all groups.
His approval rating with Democrats is now slightly under 10% in an average of polls over the last two weeks. It was above 20%, when the virus became the major news story in the latter half of March.
Among independents, it’s the same story. His approval is down double-digits since March.
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But perhaps most interestingly, even Trump’s supposedly rock solid base is leaving him on the issue. His approval rating among Republicans in an average of polls over the last few weeks is now just under 80% – his worst yet on the coronavirus. That’s a far cry from what we’re used to seeing in terms of Republicans’ backing of Trump.
The downward shift in Trump’s numbers could not come at a worse time for him. As the virus rages, there’s been a trend upward in the percentage of Americans who are worried about the pandemic.
Even when the virus seemed to be more under control early in June, 20% said it was among the nation’s most important problems. That’s very rare for a non-economic issue, and the percentage is likely to rise given the other data.
As I noted on Thursday, the President’s hopes of winning reelection are almost certainly pinned to how they view his coronavirus response. No matter how much Trump tries to change the subject, coronavirus is the issue of our time.
The latest data is unanimous in showing that on the key issue for who wins in November, the President’s numbers are going in the wrong direction.