Massachusetts residents expressed confidence in the way Governor Charlie Baker is handling the coronavirus outbreak in Massachusetts. But in the federal response? Not so much.
Fully two-thirds of residents disapproved of the way President Trump was handling the coronavirus outbreak, with only 25 percent saying they approved, according to a new Suffolk University/Boston Globe/WGBH News poll. That’s compared to 84 percent who said they approved of Baker’s handling of the crisis, with just 10 percent registering disapproval of the moderate Republican governor.
The poll results broke down closely along partisan lines: Just eight percent of Democrats expressed approval for Trump’s response, compared to 78 percent of Republicans and 27 percent of independents. Conversely, just six percent of Republicans said they disapproved of the president’s response, compared to 87 percent of Democrats and 63 percent of independents.
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Around the country, national surveys have found stronger support for state and local officials than the federal government, but the disapproval for Trump in heavily blue Massachusetts was especially stark.
The poor marks for Trump (and high marks for Baker) also align with Massachusetts residents’ attitude towards lockdown measures: There is widespread support in Massachusetts for Baker’s extension of the stay-at-home advisory and closure of non-essential businesses, even as Trump has been advocating that states reopen their economies. Eighty-five percent of respondents said they supported Baker’s decision to extend the restrictions.
Baker last week announced an extension of the restrictions until May 18. They were scheduled to lift on May 4, but the state is still seeing upwards of 1,000 new cases of coronavirus daily.
The poll surveyed 500 Massachusetts residents by landline and cellphone from April 29 to May 2, and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
Christina Prignano can be reached at christina.prignano@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @cprignano.
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