73 Percent of U.S. Adults Say China Bears Responsibility for American Coronavirus Deaths

Nearly three-fourths of U.S. adults say China bears responsibility for American coronavirus deaths, a Morning Consult tracker poll released Friday revealed.

Morning Consult’s latest tracker survey, polling 2,200 U.S. adults across the country, found that the majority, 73 percent, at least partially hold China responsible for American coronavirus deaths.

The consensus held steady along partisan lines, with 80 percent of Republicans and 71 percent of Democrats stating the belief that China is “‘somewhat’ or ‘very’ responsible for the current death toll in the U.S. from the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“Of the 12 groups and organizations listed in the survey, China is the most blamed entity among Republicans, and the fourth most among Democrats,” the survey found.

Seventy-three percent of U.S. adults surveyed also laid responsibility at the feet of “Americans who didn’t socially distance,” with Democrats outpacing Republican in the blame 84 percent to 67 percent.

Additionally, the survey found that 66 percent blame Americans who travelled internationally and 58 percent blame immigrants who travelled to the U.S. after the outbreak started. Fifty-six percent placed blame on the World Health Organization (W.H.O.), and 60 percent on the governments of other countries. Sixty-two percent said the federal government bears some responsibility, 55 percent said the same of state governments, and 49 percent said local governments.

Fifty-nine percent said the Trump administration bears responsibility — a finding with sharp differences along party lines, with 81 percent for Democrats and 37 percent for Republicans.  Slightly over a quarter of those surveyed, 27 percent, said doctors and medical professionals bear responsibility.

The survey also found:

Furthermore, a message test shows that Americans are more likely to say China gave the United States insufficient warning about the outbreak than they are to say the United States squandered time after China first alerted the global community. Asked which statement is most correct, 26 percent selected “The Chinese government gave the U.S. plenty of warning about the pandemic, but the U.S. did not use that time to better prepare for the pandemic,” while more than twice as many (56 percent) selected “The Chinese government did not give the U.S. enough warning about the pandemic, so the U.S. could not better prepare for the pandemic.”

While conservative leaders have urged President Trump to hold China accountable, the president said last month that his administration is conducting “serious investigations” to hold the communist country accountable for the spread of the virus.

“There are a lot of ways you can hold them accountable. We’re doing very serious investigations, as you probably know. And we are not happy with China,” Trump said.

“We are not happy with that whole situation, because we believe it could have been stopped at the source. It could have been stopped quickly, and it wouldn’t have spread all over the world,” he continued. “And we think that should have happened.”

“So we’ll let you know at the appropriate time, but we are doing serious investigations,” Trump added.