Most Republicans believe that the nonstop media coverage of the coronavirus, and hits that the White House has bumbled the scare, are aimed at knocking President Trump, according to a new survey just released.
In the poll shared with Secrets, Rasmussen Reports found that 60% of Republicans believe the virus is being used as a “tool to get Trump.”
Said the analysis: “60% of Republicans believe instead that the media and some politicians are playing up the threat of coronavirus to hurt President Trump.”
The poll revealed good news for the administration, noting that many believe that the White House has handled the crisis well. “46% of all likely U.S. voters rate the federal government’s response to the coronavirus as good or excellent. Thirty percent (30%) say it’s doing a poor job,” it said.
While the administration has been working on the issue for nearly two months, starting with congressional meetings, a ban on flights from China, and a focus on testing and illegal border crossers from China, Democrats and the media initially ripped the response.
Even Vice President Mike Pence’s selection by Trump to lead the united government effort was initially rapped.
But over the past week, the administration has won applause for its efforts, and Pence’s calming influence has helped to steer attention to the effort to stop the spread of the virus.
Rasmussen also found that the public has a better view of how Trump is handling the crisis than former President Barack Obama’s handling of the ebola scare.
“By comparison, 40% of Americans gave the government’s response to Ebola good or excellent marks in October 2014 after the first case was diagnosed in this country. Less than three weeks later, that number had fallen to 31%,” said Rasmussen.
