The Mercury News

Americans largely back Biden virus response

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WASHINGTON >> Joe Biden is enjoying an early presidenti­al honeymoon, with 60% of Americans approving of his job performanc­e thus far and even more backing his handling of the coronaviru­s pandemic, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

At a moment of deep political polarizati­on in America, support for Biden’s pandemic response extends across party lines. Overall, 70% of Americans back the Democratic president’s handling of the virus response, including 44% of Republican­s.

Still, Biden faces more skepticism from Americans on the economy, which has been battered by the pandemic. Fifty-five percent of Americans approve of Biden’s approach to the economy thus far, and 63% say the U.S. economy is in poor shape, the AP-NORC survey shows. Republican­s are also less likely to back Biden on the economy than they are on the pandemic, with just 17% supporting his fiscal stewardshi­p.

Less than two months into his presidency, Biden has made the pandemic his central focus, urging Americans to follow stringent social distancing and mask guidelines and vowing to speed up distributi­on of critical vaccines. He’s also argued that until the spread of the virus is under control, the economy won’t fully recover.

To address financial shortfalls in the meantime, he’s asking Congress to pass a $1.9 trillion pandemic rescue plan that would provide direct payments to millions of Americans and surge funds into state and local government­s.

The measure has already passed the House. But Biden is having to make compromise­s to keep all Democratic senators in support of the measure, including agreeing this week to narrow eligibilit­y for $1,400 stimulus checks.

In a concession to moderate Democratic senators, Biden agreed that individual­s making more than $80,000 annually and couples making more than $160,000 won’t receive any benefits.

Trump argued that the U.S. economy couldn’t afford the hit that came from enacting restrictio­ns on business and travel. The worst fears of economists were averted as Republican­led states followed Trump’s lead and resisted restrictio­ns, but COVID-19 cases skyrockete­d.

Despite their differing approaches to managing the economy during the pandemic, Biden’s approval ratings on the economy are similar to Trump’s.

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