Poll: Majority of Americans Believe the Federal Response is Worsening the Pandemic

According to a new poll released by Axios-Ipsos, the majority of Americans––that’s 60 percent––believe the federal response is worsening the coronavirus pandemic in the United States. The Axios-Ipsos poll surveyed 1,100 U.S. adults between Aug. 28 and 31. The margin of error amounted to 3.3 percentage points. 

Just 19 percent of Democrats believe the federal response is improving life under the pandemic compared to 80 percent who believe the federal response is making things worse.

Among Republicans, the findings are similarly stark. 74 percent of the survey’s respondents believe the federal response is improving life under the pandemic compared to 25 percent who said otherwise.

And finally, among independent voters, a little over a third (32 percent) had good things to say about the federal response compared to 68 percent who did not.

To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.

The poll also found that Americans harbor significant distrust toward their government, with just 32 percent reporting that they expect the government to look out for their best interest. A similar poll in March found more than half of respondents placed their trust in the government.

Despite this, survey respondents reported feeling optimistic about the future, with 57 percent saying they are “somewhat” or “very hopeful” the pandemic will be under control in the United States within the next six months. 43 percent said otherwise.

More than 188,000 Americans have died since the first death from coronavirus in the United States was reported in February. President Donald Trump continues to face significant criticism for his response, particularly during an election year.

Yesterday, the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis released eight weeks of White House Coronavirus Task Force reports that indicate the Trump administration failed to respond to the crisis effectively.

“The Task Force reports released today show the White House has known since June that coronavirus cases were surging across the country and many states were becoming dangerous ‘red zones’ where the virus was spreading fast,” said Chairman Rep. James E. Clyburn.

“Rather than being straight with the American people and creating a national plan to fix the problem, the President and his enablers kept these alarming reports private while publicly downplaying the threat to millions of Americans,” he continued. “As a result of the President’s failures, more than 58,000 additional Americans have died since the Task Force first started issuing private warnings, and many of the Task Force’s recommendations still have not been implemented.  It is long past time that the Administration finally implement a national plan to contain this crisis, which is still killing hundreds of Americans each day.”

Alan Herrera

Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.