Americans' views on coronavirus, government response

In February, just over 60 percent of Americans said the federal government was doing enough to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. In the latest poll from NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist College, that number fell to 46 percent.

There's also a sharp partisan divide, especially toward messaging from President Trump and the news media. Three-quarters of Republicans said they trust the president, compared to just 8 percent of Democrats. When it comes to news media coverage, there's a flip, with two-thirds of Democrats trusting the information and 60 percent of Republicans saying they don’t.

At 9 a.m. on Wednesday, host Kerri Miller spoke with a political scientist from Marist College about the poll results; how Americans’ views have changed as the spread of the new coronavirus has increased across the globe; and how public opinion influences the government and others.

Guest:

• Lee Miringoff is the director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion and an assistant professor of political science at Marist College.

To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above.

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