Trump's Approval Rating Drops As Coronavirus Outbreak Worsens

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President Donald Trump’s approval rating has taken a hit as the coronavirus continues to take a toll on the United States.

53.1 percent of Americans disapprove of Trump and 42.7 percent approve, according to FiveThirtyEight’s polling average as of March 10. That’s a noticeable rise from 51 percent disapproval and 44.6 percent approval on February 18, before the coronavirus had worked its way through the country.

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Wednesday demonstrates a wider gulf, with 47 percent of likely U.S. voters saying they approve of the president’s job performance compared to 52 percent who say they don’t.

The president’s response to the outbreak has continued to face heavy criticism. A nationwide testing shortage has been exacerbated by a shortage of critical lab materials, leading to an “inability to prepare samples for testing,” according to Politico.

CDC Director Robert Redfield told the news outlet that it is unlikely U.S. labs have an adequate stock of RNA extraction kits, which are used to extract genetic material from any virus in a patient’s sample.

“The availability of those reagents is obviously being looked at,” he said. “I’m confident of the actual test that we have, but as people begin to operationalize the test, they realize there’s other things they need to do the test.”

The president is telling a different story, however. Speaking at a briefing yesterday, Trump said he believes “the U.S. has done a very good job on testing.”

“We had to change things that were done, that were nobody’s fault. Perhaps they wanted to do something a different way, but it was a much slower process from a previous administration,” he said at the time. “And we did change them. We made the changes. But the testing has gone very well. And when people need a test, they can get a test. When the professionals need a test, when they need tests for people, they can get the test. It’s gone really well.”

Coronavirus infections have continued to rise, with the U.S. logging over 1,000 cases nationwide. There have been 31 deaths from the virus, most of them centered around the hard-hit Seattle area.