A majority of Republicans surveyed in a nationwide poll believe the death toll from the coronavirus is “acceptable,” and have positive views of the U.S. response to the pandemic.
The new survey showed a major partisan split on how each party views the health crisis, which kills some 1,000 Americans every day.
Twenty-seven percent of Republicans surveyed agreed with the statement that the number of coronavirus deaths in the U.S. – which reached more than 176,000 this week – was “acceptable.”
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Conversely, 90 percent of Democrats said the death toll was unacceptable, as 67 percent of independents did.
The interview was conducted by YouGov on behalf of CBS News, with a representative sample of 2,226 registered voters interviewed between 19-21 August 2020.
More than five million people in the US have been infected with the coronavirus since the pandemic began – more than any other country. While the number of new cases in the U.S. has trended downward nationally in recent weeks, deaths have not. Most of the deaths occur in Arizona, Florida, California and Texas.
De CBS question also found differences between Democrats and Republicans over how the U.S. has handled the pandemic. Thirty-three percent of Republicans said the answer “went well,” compared to just 38 percent of all voters.
As the presidential election campaign picks up pace, partisan differences in how each candidate views the coronavirus have also become clearer.
Mr Biden said this week he would not dare close the country again if scientists recommended the measure to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
(CBS News)
In his first joint interview with running mate Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee criticized his opponent Donald Trumprushed to open him up to a nationwide lockdown as a “fundamental mistake” in his handling of the pandemic.
‘I would shut it down; I would listen to the scientists, “said Mr Biden ABC, when asked how he would react if experts recommended it.
Mr. Trump, meanwhile, has called for openings across the country in an effort to revive a flagship economy, famously declaring that “we can not leave the healing worse than the problem itself.”
The president also made an unsubstantiated claim this week that the “Deep state” delayed a vaccine against coronavirus until after the election.
“The deep state, or whatever, at the FDA makes it very difficult for drug companies to get people to test the vaccines and therapeutics,” he wrote Saturday morning on Twitter.
‘Of course, they hope to delay the response until after November 3. Must focus on speed, and saving lives! ”
The head of the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Stephen Hahn, was nominated by Mr. Trump for the role in 2010.
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