NEW POLL: 59% say coronavirus (42%) and health care (17%) are more important than the economy (25%)
NEW POLL: 65% voters say it would not be worth it to reduce the number of unemployed to 8 or 9 percent by election day if it meant deaths reach 200,000
In response to the release of the June unemployment numbers, Protect Our Care’s Coronavirus War Room Director Zac Petkanas issued the following statement:
“The bad news for the White House is that our new polling shows that any positive feelings voters may have about the economy are overshadowed by their toxic feelings about Trump’s disastrous response to the coronavirus.
“The voters Trump needs to win a second term aren’t willing to trade economic progress for the 50,000 new cases yesterday alone and 128,000 deaths overall.
“They reject Trump’s cynical attempt to juice the economy by rushing reopenings as a desperate act to boost his reelection chances and needlessly put people’s health at risk.
“Their skepticism has been validated as states that rushed to reopen at Trump’s urging are shutting down again, putting people out of work once more.
“The bottom line is that the economy is not the main standard by which key voters are judging Trump. The role he’s playing in the rising death toll is.”
View Hart Research’s Poll Deck HERE
To: Interested Parties
From: Geoff Garin, Hart Research Associates; Zac Petkanas, Protect Our Care’s Coronavirus War Room
Date: July 1, 2020
RE: New Polling Shows That Even Economic Rebound Won’t Save Trump From His Ongoing Coronavirus Failures That Endanger Lives
While there has been a lot of attention paid to the political consequences of the weekly unemployment numbers, that conversation obscures a larger and far more perilous reality for President Trump. Polling just completed by Hart Research for Protect Our Care and its Coronavirus War Room clearly shows that months before the November election, Donald Trump’s failed coronavirus response is deeply unpopular and has put him in so deep a hole with voters that even a significant economic rebound will fail to win him the support he needs.
Rather than basing their views on Trump and the economy, voters key to Trump’s re-election are primarily basing their decision on his mismanagement of a virus that has already killed more than 127,000 Americans.
They are recoiling at the deadly consequences of Trump’s botched coronavirus response, particularly at his rush to reopen against the advice of medical experts, and reject trading off lives for economic gain. This includes those who actually approve of Trump’s handling of the economy.
Voters see Trump’s calls to reopen too early as a ploy to boost his re-election chances by cynically juicing the economy at the expense of people’s health. They fundamentally reject this approach and by wide majorities are not willing to trade an economic rebound for more deaths.
The bottom line is this: Donald Trump’s failed coronavirus response and its consequences are so toxic with voters that they overwhelm any positive feelings some may have about his handling of the economy over the next several months. In other words, Trump’s re-election chances hinge on his getting the coronavirus under control; not forcing an economic comeback through rushed reopenings that further endanger people’s lives.
1. Coronavirus is the number one issue on voters’ minds; bigger than the economy
- 59% say coronavirus (42%) and health care (17%) are more important than the economy (25%)
2. Voters overwhelmingly prioritize people’s health over the well-being of the country’s economy or personal finances
- By a 64%-36% margin, voters are more concerned about the impact of the coronavirus on people’s health than its impact on the economy and people’s financial well-being. Persuadable voters feel this way 60%-40%.
- By a 2-1 margin (68%-32%), voters are more concerned about the consequences to people’s health of reopening too quickly rather than the consequences to the economy and personal finances of waiting too long. Persuadable voters feel this way 65%-35%.
3. Voters overwhelmingly disapprove of how Trump has dealt with the coronavirus & blame him for the number of deaths
- A strong majority of voters (60%) disapprove of how Trump has handled the coronavirus.
- A strong majority of voters (57%) believe Trump is to blame for the deaths associated with coronavirus.
4. Even voters who approve of Trump’s handling of the economy care more about Trump’s botched response to the coronavirus
- Voters who approve of Trump’s handling of the economy but disapprove of his coronavirus response disapprove of his job performance 75% to 25%.
5. Voters are much more concerned that Trump is making things worse, particularly by rushing to reopen
- 57% of voters believe that Trump’s policies are INCREASING the chances that many more people will die from the coronavirus. Only 17 percent believe they decrease the chance of death.
- 61% of voters disapprove of Trump’s policy of moving quickly to reopen the economy and get back to business as usual. Only 39% approve.
6. Voters reject Trump’s approach and are not willing to trade an economic rebound for people’s health
- By a 65%-35% margin, voters say it would not be worth it to reduce the number of unemployed to 8 or 9 percent by election day if it meant deaths reach 200,000.