Approval of President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic has hit a new low, with just 32 percent of Americans saying they support his strategy, according to a poll released Sunday.
Notably, the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found support for the president’s handling of the pandemic has dipped among Republicans, with 68 percent of Republicans now approving of his handling of it.
The poll also found that 81 percent of Republicans approve of the president’s overall job performance, contradicting a claim Trump repeatedly makes — including in a tweet Friday — that his approval within his own party remains steady at 96 percent.
Trump's overall approval rating remains fairly constant at 38 percent, although just two in 10 of those polled said the country is heading in the right direction, a new low for the Trump presidency.
The poll found approval of the president’s handling of the economic crisis has dipped, too — with just 38 percent of Americans now saying the economy is good, down from the 67% in January, before the pandemic's spread.
The numbers come as the president changed his tone on the coronavirus pandemic in this week’s White House task force briefing and on social media in a tacit acknowledgment he is facing polling headwinds 100 days out from the November general election.
The president has struck a more serious chord on the virus' spread recently, noting that it will “get worse before it gets better” after months of praising the administration’s efforts to contain it, and has urged Americans to wear masks in an about-face from his previous words and actions.
The virus has surged recently in Southern states crucial to Trump's reelection, including in Florida, Arizona and Texas.
The poll was conducted from July 16-20 and surveyed 1,057 people, and its full sample has a margin of error of 4.3 percent.
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