DFP Coronavirus Response Tracking Poll Week 13

By Brian Schaffner and Laurel Bliss, Tufts University

Summary

Amid a dramatic rise in coronavirus cases in many states across the country, we are beginning to see renewed concern about the coronavirus pandemic. This week more than one-in-three Americans reported that they are very worried about personally experiencing coronavirus, the highest point we have seen in the tracking poll since mid-May. Similarly, well over half of Americans reported that they are very concerned about the coronavirus pandemic, also returning to the heights of concern that we recorded in April and May when much of the country was shut down. There is a clear partisan divide when it comes to the amount of concern voiced by Americans – while 72 percent of Democrats say they are very concerned about the pandemic, just 41 percent of Republicans report the same. One-in-five Republicans say that they are not worried at all about personally experiencing coronavirus (compared to just 4 percent of Democrats).

As the number of positive cases begins to spike again, Americans appear to be penalizing the president. Just 4 percent of Americans approve of the president’s handling of coronavirus, while 57 percent disapprove. This is the worst rating Trump has received since we began tracking in mid-April. Renewed concern over coronavirus may also be bolstering support for measures to address the crisis. Support for the HEROES Act hit a high this week – 55 percent strongly support the act with another 28 percent saying they somewhat support the legislation. Just 4 percent of Americans strongly oppose the HEROES Act. We also see an uptick in support for spending more on addressing the coronavirus crisis, even at the risk of inflating the deficit.

Finally, as the expanded unemployment insurance benefits are set to expire at the end of this month, the vast majority of Americans support extending those benefits beyond the deadline. This week, 70 percent said that they either strongly or somewhat support extending the benefits until the unemployment rate falls to where it was before the coronavirus pandemic. Just 22 percent of Americans oppose an extension. The proposal receives broad bipartisan support, with 77 percent of Democrats and 64 percent of Republicans in favor.

Worry/Concern about coronavirus

The graph below tracks the percentage of Americans who say that they are very worried about personally experiencing coronavirus and those who are very concerned in general about the coronavirus pandemic.

Taking into consideration both your risk of contracting it and the seriousness of the illness, how worried are you personally about experiencing coronavirus (COVID-19)?

How concerned are you about a coronavirus epidemic here in the United States?

Approval on handling of coronavirus pandemic

The graph below shows the percent who strongly or somewhat approve of how Donald Trump, Joe Biden, or the CDC are handling the coronavirus pandemic. Respondents who responded “not sure” were excluded from the analysis

Question wording: “For each person or group, say whether you approve or disapprove of the way they are handling the coronavirus pandemic:”

Which level of government do you trust more to handle the Coronavirus pandemic: The [R’s state] state government or the federal government?

Changes in job status

Here we track responses to a question asking respondents how their work has changed since March 1st of this year. Only respondents who are in the work force are included in the chart below.

Since March 1st of this year, has your work changed? Yes, my hours have been reduced. Yes, I lost my job.

Social Distancing

Question wording: Which of the following best describes your current behavior?

I am socializing in public places

I am not going to public places, but I am socializing with friends or family in my or their homes

I am not going to public places, but I am socializing with friends or family virtually

I am not going to public places nor am I socializing with family or friends

Government response to Coronavirus

In this section, we show how Americans are evaluating what the government has done to address the Coronavirus pandemic and how much they still want the government to do.

Question wording: Based on what you have heard, do you support the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act” or CARES Act?

Question wording: Congress is now considering the HEROES Act, which would spend an additional $3 trillion, including $1 trillion for state and local governments and hospitals, $200 billion in hazard pay for essential workers, and would give households a additional stimulus payments ranging from $1,200 to $6,000. Do you support or oppose this legislation?

Question wording: The expanded unemployment insurance provision that Congress passed as part of coronavirus relief expires on July 31st. Would you support or oppose extending this unemployment insurance expansion until the unemployment rate falls to where it was before the coronavirus pandemic?

Question wording: Do you think the government should spend more money to address the coronavirus pandemic and its economic impacts, or do you think the government has already spent enough?

Question wording: Which comes closer to your view?

The government needs to spend more to address the coronavirus pandemic, even if it means increasing the national debt and deficit

The government has spent enough to address the coronavirus pandemic and should not do anything else to increase the national debt and deficit

The government has spent too much to address the coronavirus pandemic and should cut spending to reduce the national debt and deficit

Question wording: Would you support or oppose the following provisions in a future legislative package to address the coronavirus pandemic:

General scope of government

Here we track Americans views on the scope of government.

Question 1 wording: Some people think the government should provide fewer services even in areas such as health and education in order to reduce spending. Suppose these people are at one end of a scale. Other people feel it is important for the government to provide many more services even if it means an increase in spending. Suppose these people are at the other end. Where would you place yourself on this scale? 1=Provide fewer services. 7=Provide many more services.

Question 2 wording: Some people feel the government in Washington should see to it that every person has a job and a good standard of living. Suppose these people are at one end of a scale. Others think the government should just let each person get ahead on their own. Suppose these people are at the other end. Where would you place yourself on this scale? 1=Govt should let each person get ahead on own. 7=Govt should see to jobs and standard of living.

Question wording: Do you think that the government response right now should mostly be focused on: Relief in the form of assistance to workers and small business OR Investments in new infrastructure to get Americans back to work.

Question wording: Would some form of socialism be a good thing or a bad thing for the country as a whole? (Remaining respondents selected “no opinion”)

Methodology

The Data for Progress coronavirus tracking poll is fielded each week using respondents recruited via Lucid. Post-stratification weights are implemented to make each week’s sample nationally representative of American adults by gender, age, region, education, race, and the interaction of education and race. The margin of error for each week’s survey is approximately ± 4 percentage points (this is a conservative estimate and will vary slightly depending on the exact sample size and design effect each week).

Full Toplines and Crosstabs

A document showing toplines by survey wave for each question can be found here.

Crosstabs for each week’s poll can be found at the links below: