Distrust of media and belief in Trump has put his supporters at greater risk from pandemic: report

According to a report from Axios, the combination of an undying belief in the leadership abilities of Donald Trump and a mistrust of the media will likely lead followers of the president in rural communities to be hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic -- possibly even harder than in densely-populated cities.

The report begins by stating, "The demographics, work patterns and media habits of President Trump's base are putting many of his supporters at elevated risk for the health and economic impacts of coronavirus, " before adding, "National surveys, including the Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index, found that Republicans and Midwesterners have been more likely to respond with less urgency than Americans who identify as Democrats or live in coastal centers."

Noting that, "Senior citizens face higher risks from the virus than younger people. U.S. counties with the highest percentage of people 65 years and older tend to be very Republican areas that voted for Trump in 2016," the report points out that demographic is most at risk of being infected by the novel virus that is proving to be deadly.

"Trump voters in the 2016 exit polls were more likely to be older, married, middle-income, less educated and live in rural areas or the suburbs rather than urban areas," the report states, "These factors could put them in danger eventhough most live outside of crowded cities with high infection rates such as New York and San Francisco... All but one of the six states with the largest percentages of adults at higher risk from coronavirus voted for Trump in 2016."

Explaining that "Disinformation and distrust in the media could be putting elderly people and some Republicans at greater risk as well," the report adds, "Research has found thatolder populations tend to be most susceptible to falling for and spreading misinformation. On average, Facebook users 65 years or older post seven times as many articles from fake news websites as adults 29 and younger, a study found last year. 

Republicans are less likely to trust media sources, and thus are more likely to place trust in just one news source: Fox News."

Of greater worry is the high number of people identifying as Republicans who believe that pandemic concerns are overblown, with Axios reporting, "76% of Republican respondents told Pew that they thought the media exaggerated the dangers of coronavirus, according to a new survey. Just 33% said the coronavirus was a major threat to Americans' health, compared to 59% of Democrats."

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