Most Americans say they do not trust what President Donald Trump is saying about the coronavirus, according to a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll.
According to the poll, 60% said they had not very much or no trust at all in what Trump is saying concerning the virus. Only 37% said they had a good amount or great deal of trust in the president on the issue.
Trump has come under fire for initially downplaying the crisis, indicating in early press conferences the virus might be brought under control and would begin to dissipate as temperatures warmed in April. He struck a more somber tone this week, suggesting current crisis measures could be in place at least through July or August and announcing public gatherings should be limited to 10 people.
More Americans — 49% — disapprove of how Trump is handling the pandemic as well. The 44% who approve is similar to his overall job approval rating of 43%, NPR notes.
Public health officials were trusted most at 84%. State and local leaders were next at 72%. And the trust level was about evenly split on whether the media could be trusted.
But the divide on whether Trump is trusted was sharply partisan. Only 8% of Democrats and 34% of independents trusted him on coronavirus, while 74% of Republicans did.
On the news media, 64% of Democrats trusted the information they were getting, independents were about evenly split, and only 36% of Republicans said they trusted the media.
The poll talked to 835 adults via telephone. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.8 percentage points. It includes 784 registered voters, and that portion has a margin of error is plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.
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