Whom Do You Trust On Coronavirus? Trump, Fauci Or CDC?

Nearly twice as many Americans say they disbelieve what President Trump says on the coronavirus pandemic as those who say they believe his pronouncements, an NBC News/Survey Monkey Weekly Tracking Poll indicated Tuesday.

The poll also indicated 51% believe what they hear from Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert and head of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, while 55% trust the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Thirty-one percent of those queried said they trust what the president says about the coronavirus while 58% said they don’t.

Trump has consistently downplayed the severity of the pandemic and Monday appeared to shrug off the situation yet again during an interview with Axios.

“They are dying, that's true. And you have – it is what it is. … It's under control as much as you can control it. This is a horrible plague,” he said.

Fauci and other experts have been warning the U.S. is headed in the wrong direction on controlling the pandemic as we head into the flu season, urging people to adhere to CDC guidelines – guidelines that Trump often has ignored. Cases surged during July with the daily death toll back at March and April levels of 1,000 to 1,400 a day.

As of midafternoon Tuesday, the U.S. had recorded more than 156,000 COVID-19 deaths, Johns Hopkins’ statistics showed.

As would be expected, trust in Trump is split along partisan lines with 69% of Republicans saying they believe the president compared to just 2% of Democrats; 32% of Republicans trust Fauci compared to 78% of Democrats; 38% of Republicans trust the CDC compared with 76% of Democrats. More than half of Republicans say they don’t trust Fauci or the CDC.

Among independents, 13% trust the president, 40% trust Fauci and 49% trust the CDC.

Respondents also were divided along partisan lines on whether to wear masks outside the home. Though 68% of adults said they wear masks every time they leave home and expect to have contact with people, just 48% of Republicans say they comply with the guideline compared to 85% of Democrats.

The survey queried 47,190 adults July 27 to Aug. 2. It had an error rate of 1 point.