newswire: 8/15/2020

  • The majority of American adults (69%) believe that COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted too quickly, according to a new survey. The Pew survey found that Americans have broadly negative views of the US response to the outbreak and feel it compares poorly to those of other affluent nations. (Pew Research Center)
    • NH: Back in May, I wrote that Americans overwhelmingly supported lockdown orders. (See “Vast Majority of Americans Support stay-At-Home Orders.") In the piece, I predicted that come summer rising infections would trigger public frustration towards the government’s lack of leadership. July certainly saw an uptick in new infections, and this Pew poll shows that Americans are indeed blaming the government. (See “America is Registering Record Levels of Unhappiness.”) 
    • Who is taking the most heat for the rising cases? President Trump. 63% of Americans say that Trump is doing a “poor” or “only fair” job dealing with the crisis. Only 44% of Americans say the same thing about their “state elected officials.”

Americans Blame Government For Rising C19 Cases. NewsWire - lockdown1

    • Democrats of course are more likely to blame Trump than Republicans. It follows that Dems (64%) are also more likely to blame the federal government than Reps (35%). Conversely, Reps (68%) are more likely to blame state governments than Dems (30%). The willingness of Republicans to shift blame from the president to governors is facilitated by the fact that most of the worst-hit (and heavily urban) Covid-19 states have Democratic governors.

Americans Blame Government For Rising C19 Cases. NewsWire - Lockdown2

    • So how has government failed? A solid 69% of Americans believe the government has failed by lifting restrictions prematurely. Clearly, they're looking around, watching the numbers, and noticing that the progress made from lockdowns in late March through mid-May has been lost. The US is now averaging over 1,000 Covid-19 deaths per day, up just over 500 in late June. Many are also aware--the Pew numbers confirm this as well--that no other high-income nation is currently suffering anything close to US rates of C19 deaths per capita. (See our most recent C19 report.)
    • When asked specifically which policy would most help the economy recover, the response is even more emphatic. 73% of Americans say the best way would be to start by reducing the rate of new infections so that people start feeling better about shopping and going back to work.
    • While the White House and many conservative governors believe they are boosting their own popularity by pushing back on strict rules, surveys show that they may be pushing the wrong way: Actually, strong containment policies and strict enforcement are associated with higher poll numbers. A look at recent governor approval ratings shows that those governors with the most stringent lockdown orders have the highest support numbers. Again, these are mostly Democratic leaders--with the conspicuous exception of Ohio's Governor Mike DeWine who, anomalously for a Republican, came out early for tough containment measures.

Americans Blame Government For Rising C19 Cases. NewsWire - Lockdown3

DID YOU KNOW?

  • America the Dreary. Americans aren’t feeling great. Recent surveys have shown multiple mental health indicators, such as happiness and optimism about the future, falling to record lows. (See “America is Registering Record Levels of Unhappiness.”) And the hits keep coming: Just 13% of Americans are satisfied with the state of the nation, according to a new Gallup poll conducted in July. This is down seven percentage points in the past month alone and 32 points since February. Satisfaction hasn’t been this low since November 2011, when it was 12%; the all-time low (7%) in the 41-year history of the poll was set in October 2008 during the Great Recession. Historically, national satisfaction plunges during difficult economic times. The recent decline has mostly been driven by Republicans, whose satisfaction level (20%) is now easily the lowest it’s ever been during the Trump administration. Nevertheless, the vast majority of Republicans continue to give the president a positive approval rating.