60% of Americans approve of Trump's coronavirus response: poll

Most Americans approve of President Trump's handling of the novel coronavirus outbreak, and his overall approval rating has risen from 44% to 49% during the crisis, according to a Gallup poll.

Background: Trump has received criticism in the media, as well as from officials in Washington, D.C., and around the country, for downplaying the threat of the virus and for not taking stronger action to make tests available and ramp up production of necessary medical supplies.

By the numbers: 94% of Republicans approve of Trump's response to the crisis, as might be expected given his sky-high approval within the party.

• But 60% of independents approve, compared with the 43% who approve of his overall job performance, and Democrats are twice as likely to approve of Trump's handling of the coronavirus (27%) than his leadership overall (13%).
• Worth noting: The poll was conducted March 13–22, and opinions could change significantly given how quickly the COVID-19 crisis is developing.

Go deeper:

• Latest coronavirus news
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Methodology: The poll was conducted via telephone (both landline and cellphone) March 13–22. It had a sample size of 1,020 U.S. adults and a margin of error of ±4%.