Only 30 percent of Republicans say they've stopped attending large gatherings during coronavirus outbreak
President Donald Trump (left) and Fox News host Sean Hannity (right). Image via screengrab.
March 15, 2020
While Americans scramble to buy up hand sanitizer and toilet paper, the new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll revealed that the overwhelming number of Republicans don't intend to self-isolate.
NBC News reported Sunday that 60 percent of Americans believe that the worst is yet to come, but when it comes to Republicans, only 30 percent of them say they intend to avoid large gatherings.
"But public attitudes about the coronavirus — including President Donald Trump's handling of it — are starkly divided along partisan lines, with nearly nine-in-10 Republican voters having confidence in Trump dealing with the outbreak, compared with just a sliver of Democrats who agree," the report said. "Indeed, 45 percent of all voters approve of Trump's handling of the issue, which is almost identical to his overall job rating in the poll."
"What's clear is that we are at the beginning of the story of coronavirus in America, and Americans are beginning to understand what its impact could be," NBC cited Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates.
Trump and Fox News were both dismissive of the virus in the first 40 days since the first coronavirus case hit the USA. After the shutdowns began and panic-buying started, both the president and his network of choice finally realized it was serious in the past week.
But the message hasn't extended to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) didn't get the memo, and told Americans that if they felt well, they should go out to dinner and in public. For younger healthy people, they can be carriers of the virus, which could ultimately kill older people they come in contact with.