Navigating Coronavirus — June 10

In today’s email, we take a quick look at the latest developments in the pandemic — update: coronavirus is still spreading thanks to Trump’s rush to reopen unsafely — before we take a deep look at new Navigator polling on the protests and police brutality.

Read on for today’s Navigating Coronavirus…

It’s been 103 days since President Trump said we’d soon have zero cases in the U.S. We now have 2 million cases and more than 114,000 deaths.

THE LATEST

Message guidance on the latest developments with President Trump’s handling of the crisis.

1. TRUMP IS PUTTING LIVES AT RISK BY IGNORING CORONAVIRUS TO FOCUS ON DIVIDING AMERICANS.

Instead of showing any kind of leadership, Trump is spewing insane conspiracy theories about protesters. And nearly 40 days after Trump stopped issuing federal social distancing guidelines, coronavirus cases are on the rise across the country and the death toll has exceeded even the high end of Trump’s estimates.

• USA Today: “The number of coronavirus cases tied to meatpacking plants has more than doubled since [Trump ordered plants open], topping 20,400 infections across 216 plants in 33 states, the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting found. At least 74 people have died.”
• Salt Lake Tribune: “287 workers test positive for COVID-19 at meatpacking plant as impact ripples through northern Utah”
• “The facility remains partially open, according to a company spokeswoman. Greer said the department cannot shut it down because of an executive order signed by President Donald Trump making meatpacking plants an essential business.”

2. TRUMP KEEPS MAKING THIS CRISIS WORSE, EVEN AS HE’S LARGELY GIVEN UP ON FIGHTING IT.

Trump and his entire administration were unprepared for this crisis, ignoring warnings from pandemic experts for years, and failing to accurately count the country’s infection rate. Now, Trump’s ego has worsened our supply shortage, he is breaking his promise to protect Americans from enormous medical bills, and he is strangling the international community of much-needed resources.

• SALON: “After Trump visits without a mask, medical supplier forced to throw away new testing swabs”
• POLITICO: “Insurance regulators from Tennessee to Washington state have stepped up efforts to protect patients from unexpected bills for coronavirus tests, concerned the federal government has failed to shield people from thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket expenses.”

NAVIGATOR TRACKING NUMBERS . . .

We will release full toplines tomorrow, but here is today’s new data…

TODAY’S POLLING DECK >> HERE

• Just 33% approve of Trump’s response to George Floyd’s death and the protests — including only 23% of Independents. 83% of African Americans disapprove of Trump’s response.
• Americans view Trump’s use of tear gas to clear protesters for his photo op most negatively. Two-thirds (65%) disapprove, including 73% of Independents and more than a third of Republicans (34%).

• More than two-thirds of Americans approve of the protests, and a majority disapproves of the police response. 68% of Americans, including 64% of white Americans, support the protests. 51% of Americans disapprove of the way police responded to the protests while just 40% approve.
• MORE >> Most Americans point to outside agitators and white supremacists as responsible for any violence at protests — not the protesters themselves.
• Americans are also optimistic these protests will bring meaningful change. 63% of African Americans and 58% of all Americans believe that.

• The police are viewed slightly more negatively than Black Lives Matter. The police are viewed five points more unfavorably than Black Lives Matter — as more than half of white Americans (53%) are now favorable toward the Black Lives Matter movement.

• A majority of Americans see recent murders as part of a broader problem of racism and police brutality in America. Americans aren’t viewing the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor as isolated incidents. Floyd’s death was seen as the clearest sign of a broader problem with 74% agreeing it is emblematic of systemic issues.

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Navigating Coronavirus is a joint project of Governing for Impact, Groundwork Collaborative, The Hub Project, and Navigator Research.

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