In the latest NBC News|SurveyMonkey tracking poll, 58% of people nationwide say they approve of the way their governor is handling their state’s coronavirus response, 15 points higher than the number (43%) who approve of the way President Trump is handling the federal response.
Still, governors’ support may be slipping, particularly among Republicans. Overall, 23% of people say they strongly disapprove of the way their governor is handling the coronavirus response, up from 20% in the first week of July. Among Republicans and GOP leaners, that number has ticked up from 23% to 27% in the past two weeks, while the corresponding number who say they strongly approve of their governor’s response has decreased from 25% to 22%. Responses among Democrats and independents have held steady.
In the same time period, President Trump’s approval has not budged, both in his handling of the coronavirus response and in his overall job approval, and both overall and among his Republican base.
Democratic governors receive higher marks than Republican governors for their coronavirus response in the aggregate. Overall, 62% of people who live in states led by a Democrat say they approve of the way the governor is handling the coronavirus response, compared with 54% of people who live in states led by a Republican. Furthermore, Democrats who live in Dem-controlled states approve of their governors more than Republicans who live in GOP-controlled states (86% vs. 72%).
Nevertheless, by a more than 2-to-1 margin, most people across the country say they trust their governor more than President Trump to make the decision about when to reopen local businesses (68% to 26%). As states are struggling with how and when to reopen, a majority of people nationwide continue to be more concerned that businesses are reopening too quickly rather than too slowly (62% vs. 34%).
For full results, click through the interactive toplines below.
Read more about our polling methodology here.
