The majority of Americans approve of President Trump’s job performance overall, and even more have a positive view of his administration’s response to the Chinese coronavirus pandemic — a phenomenon that appears to be growing day by day — according to a Harris poll released Thursday.
Pollsters conducted the survey on 2,050 U.S. adults in two waves — one last week, March 14-15, 2020, and the second March 17-18, 2020. The separate polls demonstrate that Americans across the board are increasingly approving of the way the president is handling the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump’s general approval jumped four points, 49 percent to 53 percent, in less than a week. However, the jump is even greater when narrowed to his “handling” of the coronavirus, specifically. His approval jumped five points, from 51 percent to 56 percent, in a matter of days.
That coincides with Trump’s daily coronavirus task force updates and his administration’s push to send checks directly to the American people as part of its “stage 3” proposal for economic relief.
On Thursday, Trump spoke at length on specific treatments to combat the virus, including the anti-malaria drug chloroquine.
“We’re going to be able to make that drug available almost immediately,” Trump said at Thursday’s briefing.
The poll also revealed Trump’s situational approval ratings leaping on nearly all fronts. While stimulating jobs remained steady at 60 percent, the president experienced a one-point jump on the economy and “administering the government,” two points on fighting terrorism and handling immigration, and three points on foreign affairs.
Respondents were also asked, “How trustworthy do you think each of the following sources are to provide accurate information regarding the coronavirus outbreak?”
Fifty-seven percent of respondents, during the first poll, indicated that the White House and president were trustworthy. That number also jumped four percentage points just days later, boosting to 61 percent.
The margin of error was not immediately available.