More than two-thirds of Americans approve of Biden’s coronavirus response: poll

More than two-thirds of Americans approve of President Biden’s response to the coronavirus pandemic days after he was inaugurated, according to a poll released on Sunday.

The ABC News/Ipsos poll determined that 69 percent of respondents approved of Biden’s handling of the pandemic in his first few days as president, a difference from former President Trump’s mostly underwater ratings on the same issue.

The president’s approval includes 40 percent of Republicans, 97 percent of Democrats and 70 percent of independents. The highest percentage of support that Trump had earned came from 55 percent of Americans in mid-March last year, including 30 percent of Democrats.  

Specifically, the administration received 81 percent approval for an executive order signed on Inauguration Day mandating masks and social distancing in federal buildings and on federal land. 

A majority of Republicans, at 59 percent, backed the measure, as well as overwhelming majorities of Democrats and independents, at 99 percent and 83 percent, respectively.

Biden’s overall approval for the transition of power sat at 67 percent, reviving the tradition of presidents receiving high marks for their first months in office before approval numbers drop. His predecessor had broken that trend after 40 percent approved of how Trump handled the transition.

Republicans showed less support for Biden’s early actions to end the Muslim travel ban, to stop a national emergency declaration at the southern border and to return to both the World Health Organization and the Paris climate agreement.

A majority of respondents, at 57 percent, express confidence in Biden’s ability to unify the nation and 22 percent said they had a great deal of confidence in the goals he expressed during his inaugural address.

Almost one-quarter of Americans said they were deeply skeptical of the president’s ability to bring the country together.

The ABC News/Ipsos poll surveyed 504 adults, in English and Spanish, between Jan. 22 and 23, two or three days after Inauguration Day. The margin of error amounted to 5 percentage points.

Biden’s administration has proposed a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, but Republican lawmakers have criticized the move as too expensive.