Poll: 60 percent of Americans think Trump should listen more to health experts

A total of 60 percent of Americans think President Trump should listen to health experts more, according to a poll released Thursday.

The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found that a majority those polled disapprove of the president’s management of the coronavirus pandemic, with 6 in 10 saying they think he should pay more attention to health professionals’ advice.

Not surprisingly, respondents were split among partisan lines when asked whether Trump needs to listen more to health experts, with 91 percent of Democrats and 58 percent of independents saying he should but just 28 percent of Republicans agreeing.

The top health officials on the White House coronavirus task force, Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx, encouraged the president to support social distancing practices after Trump stated he wanted to reopen the economy by Easter.

The president ended up shifting his stance, saying distancing should continue until April 30. Since then, Trump has decided the states have the authority to decide when they will reopen. 

Forty-one percent of respondents approved of Trump’s handling of the pandemic, while 58 percent said they disapprove. The president’s coronavirus approval rating has remained steady since last month.

His overall job rating has also been stable, with 42 percent approving and 57 percent disapproving in the most recent poll.

Half of the respondents reported being more likely to turn to state and local governments for virus information, while 28 percent said they were most likely to look to Trump. Twenty-three percent said they can trust Trump for coronavirus information quite a bit or more, while 52 percent of respondents said the same about state and local governments. 

The poll was conducted between April 16-20 and surveyed 1,057 people. The margin of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points.