Our research below provides messaging guidance for progressives to win key policy debates.
As Trump’s job approval reverts to pre-convention levels, Americans see the Republican Party as focusing the most on jobs, the economy, and immigration while seeing the Democratic Party as focusing the most on the pandemic and race relations.
Nearly a quarter of Americans know someone personally who has died from coronavirus, while a vast majority supports keeping social distancing measures in place until a vaccine is developed and readily available.
The public sees as Trump looking out for himself first instead of the country and perceives him as falling short of his campaign promises; African Americans are unpersuaded by Trump’s claim that they are doing better under the current administration than they have since Abraham Lincoln was president.
Majorities of Americans continue to say “the worst is yet to come” for the pandemic and that Trump should stay out the development of a coronavirus vaccine and leave the issue to experts.
More Americans than ever rate the economy negatively and six in ten say it is still getting worse.
Trump’s pandemic approval continues to decline while, for the first time, half of Americans know someone who has been infected with coronavirus.
Trump approval has significantly declined since March while support for “more aggressive” measures to stop the virus resurges after a late-spring decline.
Three in four now say the country is on the wrong track and increasingly identify as pro-mask; Americans think Trump should have been wearing a mask a long time ago and trusts Dr. Fauci over the president.
As new cases surge, three in five Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the pandemic, a growing majority says the worst is yet to come, and most believe states should implement more aggressive social distancing measures.
As ratings of Trump’s overall job performance and response to the coronavirus pandemic continue to deteriorate, Americans oppose reopening schools at the end of summer and believe Trump should stay out of reopening decisions, leaving them to state and local governments.
Republicans are relatively divided on issues relating to protests and coronavirus; older Republicans are more COVID-sensitive while younger Republicans are more protest-sensitive.
The public is overwhelmingly negative about Trump saying “slow the testing down, please” as the percentage of Americans who think he is not doing enough to respond to the pandemic hits an all-time high.
Disapproval of Trump’s handling of the pandemic reaches a new high as a growing number do not see a “return to normal” in the near future; majorities say states that are reopening should reverse course if new cases surge.
Public debate on Trump has shifted back toward coronavirus and majorities blame him for the recent surge in cases while feeling he is not doing enough on the pandemic and that he is pushing too aggressively to reopen.
The public maintains a negative outlook on various aspects of Trump’s job performance as more Americans than ever say the country is “off on the wrong track.” Support for more aggressive social distancing measures is growing and amny believe their state is reopening too quickly amidst a rise in coronavirus cases.
