Trump Approval Ratings: 55% Of Americans Disapprove POTUS' Coronavirus Response

President Donald Trump is receiving failing marks from the American public for his controversial handling of the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the country.

This was revealed in a new poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research taken from March 26 to 29 and involving 1,057 adults nationwide. Asked if they approve or disapprove of Trump's handling of the coronavirus outbreak, 55% of total respondents said they disapprove while 44% said otherwise.

The deep partisan divide was strongly apparent in the response to this question. Republicans approve/disapprove by a margin of 82% to 17%. On the other hand, Democrats approve/disapprove by 15% to 86%. Independents also strongly disapprove of Trump's handling of the crisis, with 57% disapproving against 43% approving.

The poll also shows Americans trust their state and local governments more than they do the federal government to handle the crisis. The poll reveals 57% approving of the way their state governments are handling the COVID-19 outbreak. Another 23% disapprove while 20% have no opinion either way.

The respondents trust in their city or local governments was equally strong. The poll showed 54% approving, 20% disapproving and 23% with no opinion. On the other hand, 41 % of Americans disapprove of the federal government’s handling of the outbreak while 38% approve.

More Republicans than Democrats were inclined to approve of the federal, state and local government's response to the COVID-19 crisis. For example, 63% of Republicans and only 21% of Democrats approve of the federal government's handling of the crisis. The figure for Independents was 28%, which was more in line with the Democrat viewpoint.

A large 41% disapprove of how leaders in Congress are handling the crisis compared to the 31% holding the opposite view. Fewer than half of Democrats or Republicans approve of how Congress is handling the situation.

As for how Trump's handling his job as president, 56% said they disapprove while 43% said they approve. As might be expected, Republicans strongly back Trump with 87% approving of his job against 13% that don't.

Among Democrats, a huge 90% disapprove of Trump's job handling compared to a mere 9% that give him the nod. Among Independents, the disapproval stands at 67% against an approval of 37%.

As of Wednesday, there were 212,980 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. compared to 186,046 Tuesday. There were 4,759 deaths Wednesday compared to 3,807 Tuesday.