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Trump Disapproval Rating At New High In New Poll As Americans Are Embarrassed By Coronavirus Response

This article is more than 3 years old.
Updated Aug 19, 2020, 02:42pm EDT

TOPLINE

A majority (68%) of Americans said they feel embarrassed by the United States’ haphazard response to the coronavirus outbreak, according to a new CNN poll released Wednesday, which also found that a majority of respondents are “very angry” about the state of the country—as President Trump’s approval ratings hit a new low.

KEY FACTS

58% of Americans say they don't approve of the way President Donald Trump has responded to the pandemic, according to the CNN survey, which is a new high.

Unsurprisingly, there was a sharp partisan divide among the respondents, with 93% of Democrats saying they’re embarrassed by the U.S. response, compared to just 33% of Republicans who agreed (and 61% of Republicans saying they are “proud”). 

About eight in ten Americans say they are at least somewhat angry with how “things are going in the country today,” including a remarkable 51% who say they are very angry.

According to CNN, the previous high for the share who said they were "very angry" was 35%, reached in 2008 and 2016.

In June, 40% of Americans said they knew someone diagnosed with the coronavirus, but that number had increased significantly, to 67%, by August.

The poll was conducted for CNN via telephone by SSRS, an independent research company, with interviews conducted from August 12-15 among 1,108 adults (including an oversample of 305 respondents living in 15 battleground states).

Key Background:

Most experts expect the Trump Administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic to be a critical factor in citizens’ decisions as they enter voting booths this November. As of Wednesday morning, more than 5,498,300 people in the U.S. have been infected with Covid-19, and at least 171,800 have died, according to a New York Times database. Trump has consistently claimed that the case count is higher in the U.S. due to more testing. On Monday, the U.S. reported 35,112 new coronavirus cases, the fewest since June 24. Hospitalizations are also declining in most states. However, according to the CNN poll, when asked where the country stands as it relates to the pandemic, 55% of Americans said they feel the "worst is yet to come.” A slim majority (52%) say they are uncomfortable about returning to their normal prepandemic lives, given the country’s current level of new infections. Yet, again, there was an enormous gap (64 points) between the percentages of Republicans (82%) and Democrats (18%) 

Big Number:

75: That's how many days remain until Election Day, November 3.

Further Reading:

CNN Poll: Most Americans embarrassed by U.S. response to coronavirus (CNN) 

All The Republicans Who Have Endorsed Joe Biden For President (Forbes) 

Republicans Bash Democrats: 'If You Can Protest In Person, You Can Vote In Person' (Forbes) 

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