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Most Americans critical of Trump’s handling of coronavirus pandemic: Poll

Friday, 17 April 2020 8:48 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 18 April 2020 7:41 AM ]

US President Donald Trump arrives for the daily briefing on the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, at the Rose Garden of the White House on April 15, 2020, in Washington, DC. / AFP / MANDEL NGAN

The majority of Americans are critical of President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and believe the worst is yet to come from the crisis, according to a new poll.

The Pew Research Center survey, which was released on Thursday, shows 73 percent of Americans say the “worst is still to come” from the coronavirus outbreak, compared with 26 percent who say the “worst is behind us.”

The survey also found that 65 percent say Trump was “too slow” to take major steps to address the crisis when cases of COVID-19 were first reported in other countries.

Only 46 percent of those surveyed say Trump has done well in addressing the financial needs of ordinary people who have lost jobs or income.

About half of Americans, or 52 percent, say that Trump’s public comments on the coronavirus outbreak are making the situation seem better than it really is.

The poll also shows that just 45 percent say the Republican president was meeting the needs of hospitals, doctors and nurses and only 42 say he has done well in providing the public with accurate information about the coronavirus.

The Pew survey found that a majority of Americans continue to disapprove of Trump’s overall job as president, with 53 disapproving and only 44 percent approving.

Trump, who is under immense pressure for his slow and inadequate response to the outbreak, is pushing to reopen the US economy.

Over 90 percent of Americans have been under stay-at-home orders to contain the virus, forcing companies, shops and restaurants to close their doors, throwing some 22 million people out of work.

As their frustration with life under lockdown grows, US protesters have started to openly defy the social distancing rules in an effort to put pressure on state governors to ease them.

The United States, with the world’s third-largest population, has now suffered the greatest number of reported fatalities from the coronavirus, ahead of Italy and Spain.

More than 670,000 people in the US have been infected with the coronavirus and over 33,000 have died as of Friday morning, according to a Reuters tally.