Poll: Two-thirds of Americans say Trump was irresponsible about COVID-19 infection

Almost two-thirds of Americans said President Trump was irresponsible about his COVID-19 infection, according to a poll released Monday.

A CNN poll conducted by SRSS determined that 63 percent of American adults said Trump acted irresponsibly in handling the risk of infecting people who had been around him with COVID-19. Thirty-three percent considered the president’s actions responsible, while 4 percent said they didn’t have an opinion. 

The viewpoint that Trump acted irresponsibly about the risk of infecting others extended across most demographic lines, including voter groups the president is trying to woo ahead of the November election.

Seventy-two percent of women, 66 percent of those aged 65 and older, 66 percent of independents and 65 percent of whites with college degrees said he acted irresponsibly. The only groups in which a majority said the president acted responsibly were Trump’s supporters, at 79 percent, and Republicans, at 76 percent.

A majority of respondents, 69 percent, said they trusted little of what they heard from the White House about Trump’s health, while 12 percent said they trusted almost all of it. 

Republicans and Trump supporters were among some of the only groups where a majority trusted what they heard from the White House, at 65 percent and 66 percent, respectively. 

Most respondents – 63 percent – said they don’t believe Trump’s personal infection will affect how he manages the coronavirus pandemic. This view received bipartisan support with 70 percent of Democrats, 59 percent of independents and 62 percent of Republicans agreeing. 

Disapproval of Trump’s handling of the overall coronavirus outbreak reached a new high of 60 percent in the poll, while 37 percent approved.

The CNN poll conducted by SRSS was conducted between Oct. 1 and 4 and surveyed 1,206 American adults. The margin of error amounted to 3.3 percentage points. 

The poll had already been underway when Trump announced he contracted COVID-19 early Oct. 2. A total of 794 people were surveyed about Trump’s infection, with a margin of error of 4.2 percentage points.