Poll: Americans critical of Trump handling of virus

WASHINGTON » Less than three weeks from Election Day, majorities of Americans are highly critical of President Donald Trump’s handling of both the coronavirus pandemic and his own illness, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

The survey also shows that few Americans have high levels of trust in the information the White House has released about Trump’s health. Initial accounts of the president’s condition were murky and contradictory, and the White House is still refusing to say when the president last tested negative for COVID-19 before his infection became public.

Trump’s illness and hospitalization has refocused the critical final stretch of the presidential campaign on the pandemic, which has killed more than 216,000 people in the United States this year. Democratic challenger Joe Biden has sought tomake the election a referendumon the Republican president’s handling of the virus, arguing that Trump has mis managed the pandemic and cost Americans lives.

The AP-NORC poll suggests many Americans agree with that sentiment, with 65% saying Trump has not taken the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. seriously enough. The poll, which was taken a week after Trump disclosed his own COVID-19 diagnosis, also shows that 54% of Americans disapprove with how the White House handled the episode.

Trump heads into Election Day with a 39% overall approval rating from Americans, on par with his approval ratings over the course of his presidency. But there are other warning signs for him in the AP-NORC poll.

Seventy-four percent of Americans say the country is heading in the wrong direction, including half of Republicans. And though the majority of Republicans, 83%, approve of Trump’s overall job performance, fewer, 70%, are supportive of his handling of the pandemic.