Rob Horowitz: Most Americans Say COVID-19 Testing is a Federal Responsibility

Rob Horowitz: Most Americans Say COVID-19 Testing is a Federal Responsibility

More than 6-in-10 Americans believe that ensuring there are enough Covid-19 tests is a responsibility that rests primarily with the federal government, while less than 4-in-10 say it is primarily the responsibility of state governments, according to a recently released Pew Research Center poll.  Not surprisingly, there are major partisan differences on this question with nearly 8-in-10 Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents saying responsibility rests primarily with the federal government, as opposed to about 4-in-10 Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who share this view.  The bottom-line, however, is that a substantial majority of Americans reject the president’s argument that testing is mainly a state responsibility.

President Donald Trump’s continuing attempts to duck responsibility for providing the supplies needed to ensure sufficient testing, along with his contradictory, misleading and sometimes just plain false statements on the topic are among the reasons that only 41% of Americans approve of his response to the virus.  This stands in stark contrast to state and local officials in whose response more than 6-in-10 Americans approve. Medical practitioners and health officials receive even higher marks.    Nearly 9-in-10 Americans approve of the job that their local hospitals and medical centers are doing.  More than 7-in-10 approve of the job public health officials are doing, reports Pew Research.

Among the other major findings of the new poll, nearly 9-in-10 Americans say Covid-19 is a major threat to the economy. This view is held across the board, with little- to- no difference based on party affiliation or sympathies. In contrast, there is a 39 point differential between Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents and Republicans and Republican-leaning independents on whether or not the virus is a major threat to “the health of the population.”   Eighty-two percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents believe it is a major threat as compared with 43% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who say the same. There has been a 9 point drop in Republicans and Republican-leaning independents saying Covid-19 is a major threat to health over the last month or so, reports Pew Research.

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As we move past 90,000 lives lost to Covid-19--nearly 30% of total global deaths when we represent only a little more than 4% of the world’s population--the best political path for the president remains the most straightforward one: accept full responsibility for leadership and do a better job of responding to the virus.  At this late date, I am not hopeful for a course correction, but you don’t need to be a polling expert to realize that President Trump’s manifest mishandling of this pandemic has not only cost American lives and resulted in much more economic damage than there would have been with a more competent response; it is making his path to re-election a far more difficult one.  

Some things are too big and too important for the tried and true Trump play-book of blame-shifting, changing the subject, and out-right falsehoods to work.  That’s the wake-up call our president needs. I hope there is still someone around him who can sound the alarm.
 

Rob Horowitz is a strategic and communications consultant who provides general consulting, public relations, direct mail services and polling for national and state issue organizations, various non-profits, businesses, and elected officials and candidates. He is an Adjunct Professor of Political Science at the University of Rhode Island.