40% of Americans don't think the US government is prepared to handle coronavirus

John Haltiwanger

February 28, 2020 5:53 PM

40% of Americans said they do not feel the US government is sufficiently prepared to handle coronavirus cases, according to a new Insider poll.

Trump

Only 7% said the feel the US government is "extremely prepared."
Public health experts have said that President Donald Trump has a major credibility problem as the US braces for the virus, which the CDC warned could cause "severe" disruptions to daily life.
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Roughly four-in-10 Americans do not feel that the US government is prepared to handle the COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, according to a new Insider poll.

Poll participants were asked: Do you feel the US government is sufficiently prepared to handle coronavirus cases?

Only 7% said they felt the government is "extremely prepared," while 12% said "very prepared."

Comparatively, 24% said "not so prepared" and 16% said "not prepared at all."

Here's a full breakdown of how Americans responded to the question of how prepared they feel the US government is for coronavirus:

7% said "extremely prepared"
12% said "very prepared"
33% said "somewhat prepared"
24% said "not so prepared"
16% said "not at all prepared"
7% said "I don't know"

This polling seems to bolster warnings from public health experts that President Donald Trump's history of lying about public health crises could strongly undermine his credibility as the US braces for coronavirus.

The Trump administration has faced bipartisan criticism as it's sought to downplay the potential impact of coronavirus in the US, even as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have warned that the spread is inevitable and Americans should prepare for "severe" disruptions.

Trump has tapped Vice President Mike Pence to handle the government's approach to the crisis, but this has not raised confidence levels among congressional Democrats and experts who point to Pence's record of ignoring science during his time as governor of Indiana.

SurveyMonkey Audience polls from a national sample balanced by census data of age and gender. Respondents are incentivized to complete surveys through charitable contributions. Generally speaking, digital polling tends to skew toward people with access to the internet. SurveyMonkey Audience doesn't try to weigh its sample based on race or income. A total of 1,051 respondents were collected February 27, 2020, a margin of error plus or minus 3.09 percentage points with a 95% confidence level. NOW WATCH: Extremists turned a frog meme into a hate symbol, but Hong Kong protesters revived it as an emblem of hope See Also: Trump reportedly put Pence in charge of the coronavirus because the VP didn't 'have anything else to do' Trump has tapped Pence, who was criticized as governor for his handling of an HIV outbreak in Indiana, to handle coronavirus Trump is headed for a political reckoning as his response to the coronavirus paints a grim picture of his ability to handle a pandemic

John Haltiwanger

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