New COVID-19 Poll Shows Dramatic Shift in Public Opinion

Harvard Harris Poll Debrief with Mark Penn and Bob Cusack

A new Harvard CAPS / Harris Poll, which was fielded last week on March 24-26 among 2,410 registered voters, illustrates major change in public opinion regarding the Coronavirus Pandemic.
We have seen some dramatic shifts in economic confidence in our poll – most strikingly the perceived strength of the U.S. economy fell by 30 points to 45% net strong among voters. A majority now expect a recession in the next six months and 4 in 10 now say their personal financial situation is getting worse. Democrats are particularly hit here with 49% saying their situation is getting worse.
As might be expected, tackling the coronavirus is the top issue in the country, followed by health care and economy and jobs. 58% of voters say they want to balance minimizing infections with preserving jobs and the economy.
It remains a country with a big partisan divide, though 50% approve of President Trump’s handling of the crisis and half say the measures to control the virus have been reasonable so far, with another 4 in 10 saying they are not strict enough.
Most voters see politics as usual rather than national unity and voters are more likely to think Democrats are playing political games in handling the crisis. 60% said Pelosi’s actions have been partisan while half of voters saw Trump’s actions as balanced. As of the time of the poll the stimulus bill was still in flight, and voters were four more times as likely to support the stimulus bill than not, with 45% still waiting to learn more about what was in it.
Trump’s overall approval edged up to 48 percent with 72 per cent seeing or hearing about his briefings and most seeing them as positive.
Americans remain optimistic, with 79% saying the US will overcome the coronavirus in reasonable time. When asked what that time will be, a majority expect a return to normalcy between 3-12 months.
I welcome you to dig deeply into this rich poll on the coronavirus and the reporting on the 2020 implications of the crisis, including voters’ fears to vote in a primary election these days and their openness to voting by mail or electronic means in November.
As always, feel free to send me any questions. And you can follow my podcast on the poll at SoundCloud (full episode) or any of the following channels: @iHeartRadio, @ApplePodcasts, @Spotify, @Stitcher,@Google, @SoundCloud, @RadioPublic, @Tunein,