Americans grade Trump’s COVID-19 response worse than every state governor, poll finds

Americans in all 50 states say their governor is doing a better job responding to the coronavirus pandemic than President Donald Trump, according to a new poll.

The survey found Trump had a wide disparity in approval even in some states with Republican governors.

The president’s nationwide approval rating for the coronavirus response was 44% while 40% disapproved, according to the poll conducted for Northeastern University, Harvard University and Rutgers University researchers. It surveyed 22,912 people in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., from April 17-26.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (83%), Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (81%), Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (80%) and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (80%) had the highest approval ratings. Beshear is the only Democrat in the group.

Trump’s approval was 51% or lower in each of those states.

“If you think about this in terms of the credibility of the messenger, you basically have a Republican president telling people that they should get back to regular business. Who is going to be more credible to counter-argue that — a Democrat who has a partisan interest in disagreeing with the president, or a Republican?” Matthew Baum, a public policy and global communications professor at Harvard, told The Hill. “The governors are the ones who are seen at the helm, much more than the White House.”

Overall, 66% of Americans approve of their governor’s response to the pandemic, according to the poll.

But Trump’s approval is “polarized by party,” with 83% of Republicans approving and just 16% of Democrats approving.

This story was originally published April 30, 2020 at 3:30 PM with the headline "Americans grade Trump’s COVID-19 response worse than every state governor, poll finds."