Poll: Half of Americans approve of Trump’s coronavirus response

Half of Americans give President Donald Trump positive marks for his management of the coronavirus outbreak, according to a new survey, and his approval rating has seen a marginal improvement over the past month as the pandemic has worsened.

A Monmouth University poll released Monday reports that 50 percent of respondents believe Trump has done a “good job” dealing with the outbreak, while 45 percent say he has done a “bad job.” Three percent of those surveyed said they had a mixed review of Trump’s performance, and 1 percent did not have an opinion.

The president’s net positive rating is starkly partisan, with 89 percent of Republicans, 48 percent of independents and 19 percent of Democrats assessing that he has done a “good job” handling the public health crisis.

Additionally, 46 percent of Americans now approve of the job Trump is doing as president — an increase from 44 percent in February. Trump’s overall on-the-job rating was also sharply divided along partly lines, with 91 percent of Republicans, 44 percent of independents and 11 percent of Democrats approving.

Still, both metrics likely represent good news for the White House, as Trump continues to battle criticism for his early dismissals of the coronavirus’ threat to Americans and current refusal to mount a more sweeping federal response.

The survey’s results come after an ABC News/Ipsos poll published Friday showed that 55 percent of Americans approved of Trump’s handling of the rapidly spreading disease, up from a 43 percent approval rating of his efforts a week prior.

The Monmouth University poll was conducted March 18-22, surveying 851 adults. Its margin of sampling error is plus-or-minus 3.4 percentage points.