communicating in crisis: coronavirus · 2020. 5. 8. · nationwide surveys of registered voters;...

Nationwide surveys of registered voters; Each wave represents approximately 1,000 interviews taken over the prior three days.Latest wave conducted May 4-May 7, 2020. For more info, visit navigatorresearch.org

Communicating in Crisis: Coronavirus

Daily Update: Friday, May 8, 2020MESSAGE UPDATE


Key takeaways:

• As Trump's economic approval softens, concern about the job market outweighs optimism about a stock market recovery.

• Americans prioritize helping those in need and are far less concerned about government spending and budget deficits.

• Top concerns about Trump’s economic response to coronavirus focus on stimulus money going to big corporations and not helping regular people who are in need.


Trump’s approval ratings on four metrics related to the coronavirus pandemic continue to drop.• Among independents, Trump’s at -16 on his overall job approval (37% approve/53% disapprove), -17 on health

care (35% approve/52% disapprove), -11 on handling the pandemic (42% approve/53% disapprove), and +1 on the economy (46% approve/45 % disapprove).

Trump’s Approval Ratings Continue to Slide

Approve Disapprove

Do you approve or disapprove of the way that Donald Trump is handling…

May 7 Apr. 7

-12 -10

-14 -7

-10 0

-1 +4

43

41

44

48

4

3

55

55

54

49

His job as president

The issue of health care

The coronavirus pandemic

The economy

Not sureNET Approve


53 52 51 51 52 52 53 52 52 52 51 50 51 51 50 50 51 5250 49 48 49 50 51 50 49 49 49 50 51 52 52

49

48

4345 46 46 45 44 43

45 45 4446 46 46 45 45 46 46 45 46 47 48 47 47 46 47 48 48 48

46 46 46 46

49

49

3/23 3/28 4/2 4/7 4/12 4/17 4/22 4/27 5/2 5/7

Trump’s Economic Approval Hits New Low in Daily Tracking

Do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling the economy?

Trump’s approval rating on handling the economy is negative for the first time in our daily tracking. • More Americans now disapprove of how Trump is handling the economy (49%) than approve (48%), a net change

of 11 points since March 23rd (53% approve/43% disapprove). • In January and February, Trump’s approval rating on the economy was +2 (49% approve/47% disapprove). In early

March, prior to our daily tracking, it was at -3 (46% approve/49% disapprove).

Disapprove

Approve


64 64 65 67 70 70 70 71 71 74 75 75 73 72 72 73 74 74 76 77 77 78 78 78 78 81 82 81 79 76 76 78 80 81

30 31 31 30 28 28 27 27 27 24 23 22 25 25 25 24 23 22 20 19 19 19 19 19 19 17 16 16 19 22 22 20 18 17

3/23 3/28 4/2 4/7 4/12 4/17 4/22 4/27 5/2 5/7

Vast Majority Rate Economy Negatively

How would you rate the state of the U.S. economy today?

Four in five Americans now rate the economy as “not so good” or “poor.”• Ratings of the economy as “not so good” or “poor” first surpassed 80% on April 27 and have done so several

times since.• More than seven in 10 Republicans (71%) rate the economy as “not so good” or “poor.”

Excellent/good

Not so good/poor


Job Loss Concerns Outweigh Stock Market GainsA majority of Americans – including a majority of Republicans – do not feel like the economy is working well right now due to record high unemployment and many struggling.• In a separate question, 71% of Americans rate the stock market as “not so good” or “poor” as opposed to

only 21% who rate it as “excellent” or “good.” Who do you agree with more about the state of the economy right now?

78

90

88

61

22

10

12

39

Those who say that the economy is NOT working well right now because unemployment is at record highs and many working people are struggling

Overall

Democrats

Independents

Republicans

Those who say that the economy is already starting to work again because the stock

market has gone up 20% in the last five weeks

Nationwide survey of 1,014 registered voters; May 1-May 6, 2020.For more info, visit navigatorresearch.org


Which of the following concerns you more right now?

Americans Want An Active Role From GovernmentThe vast majority of Americans agree the government needs to do more to help regular people and are more concerned the government will not do enough to help regular people, rather than spend too much money.• Even two in five (42%) Republicans are more concerned that the federal government will not do enough to help

regular people than that it will spend too much money because of the pandemic.

Even if you don’t agree with either side completely, who do you agree with more right now?

Overall

Democrats

Independents

Republicans

Those who say that the government needs to do more to help regular people

Those who say government staying out of people’s lives

helps regular people the most

69

86

65

50

31

14

35

50

That the federal government will not do enough to get help to regular people who have been most impacted by coronavirus

That the federal government will spend too much money as a

result of coronavirus and push the United States further into debt

65

86

60

42

35

14

40

58



The Pandemic Has Shifted Economic WorldviewThe share of Americans who say workers and everyday people are key to a strong economy over a free market and limited regulations has grown by a net 12 points since May 2019.

Who do you agree with more about the state of the economy right now?

68

86

61

49

32

14

39

51

Those who say workers and everyday people are the key to a strong economy. Our prosperity comes from their hard work and contributions. The wealthy and well-connected will always try to rig the system to their advantage, which is why we need the right rules and regulations to make the economy work for everyone.

Overall

Democrats

Independents

Republicans

Those who say the free market is essential to economic opportunity, prosperity, and the

American Dream. Government needs to cut as many regulations as possible, and stay out of the way to let businesses grow and compete

instead of giving government more power.


62 38

76 24

60 40

47 53

May 2019

Workers Market


% Serious Concerns

Overall Mixed on Trump

Very Total Very Total

53 73 56 84

Please indicate whether each raises concerns about Trump’s handling of the economic response to coronavirus.

Concern Relief Going To Wealthy, Not Those Who Need it Most

”Mixed on Trump” refers to Americans that don’t always approve or don’t always disapprove of Trump’s overall job performance, his handling of theeconomy, his handling the coronavirus pandemic, and his handling of health care. Nationwide survey of 1,014 registered voters; May 1-May 6, 2020.For more info, visit navigatorresearch.org

When presented with a series of criticisms about Trump’s economic response to coronavirus, Americans say they are most concerned about stimulus money benefiting the wealthy and being withheld from people in need.

The coronavirus small business stimulus money is actually going to big corporations that don't need it. Large companies like Ruth's Chris Steak House, a luxury Texas hotel chain, Wall Street hedge funds, and the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team have received millions of dollars through the loan program. While big corporations that don't need the money are getting these small business loans, mom-and-pop shops and local restaurants have been unable to get the funds needed to avoid going out of business.

43%

35

29

24

22

The small business stimulus money is being withheld from the people that need it the most

The coronavirus small business stimulus money is actually going to big corporations that don’t need it

The Trump administration’s rollout of the small business stimulus program has been incompetent and mismanaged

The Trump administration is using the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to hand out money to rich CEOs and corporate executives

The Trump administration has used the coronavirus relief bill to hand out special perks to campaign donors

Please select the statement that was the most concerning to you. Mixed on Trump

53

39

30

30

20

% Top Two


Vast Majority Oppose Letting States Go BankruptA majority of Americans, including half of Republicans, believe that the federal government should not let states go bankrupt and should provide financial support.• Likewise, the majority of Americans (57%) have more trust in their state and local government to handle the

coronavirus pandemic than President Trump and the federal government.

Who do you agree with more about the federal government’s role in supporting state governments that are facing big budget shortfalls as a result of the coronavirus pandemic?

67

83

60

50

17

10

24

24

15

6

16

26

The federal government should provide financial support to states facing big budget shortfalls

Overall

Democrats

Independents

Republicans

The federal government should let states facing big budget shortfalls go bankrupt


Not sure


About the StudyGlobal Strategy Group conducted a public opinion survey among a sample of 1,010 registered voters conducted May 4-May 7, 2020. The survey was conducted online, recruiting respondents from multiple opt-in online panel vendors. Respondents were verified against a voter file and special care was taken to ensure the demographic composition of our sample matched that of the national registered voter population across a variety of demographic variables.

About NavigatorIn a world where the news cycle is the length of a tweet, our leaders often lack the real-time public-sentiment analysis to shape the best approaches to talking about the issues that matter the most. Navigator is designed to act as a consistent, flexible, responsive tool to inform policy debates by conducting research and reliable guidance to inform allies, elected leaders, and the press. Navigator is a project led by pollsters from Global Strategy Group and GBAO along with an advisory committee, including: Andrea Purse, progressive strategist; Arkadi Gerney, The Hub Project; Christina Reynolds, EMILY’s List; Delvone Michael, Working Families; Felicia Wong, Roosevelt Institute; Mike Podhorzer, AFL-CIO; Jesse Ferguson, progressive strategist; Navin Nayak, Center for American Progress Action Fund; Stephanie Valencia, EquisLabs; and Melanie Newman, Planned Parenthood Action Fund.

For Press inquiries contact:

[email protected]

To learn more about Navigator:

http://navigatorresearch.org

@NavigatorSurvey on Twitter

mailto:[email protected]

http://navigatorresearch.org/

communicating in crisis: coronavirus · 2020. 5. 8. · nationwide surveys of registered voters;...

Documents