Most Americans Say Country ‘Out of Control’ in New Survey
Eight in ten U.S. voters said they believe things are out of control in the country, a new NBC-Wall Street Journal poll showed.
(Bloomberg) -- Majorities of Americans are still concerned about the spread of coronavirus, pessimistic about the economy returning to normal this year, and are down on President Donald Trump’s ability to unite the country, a new survey showed.
Eight in ten U.S. voters said they believe things are out of control, the NBC-Wall Street Journal poll revealed. Just 15% said the U.S. was “under control.”
The poll was conducted May 28 to June 2 -- during the protests that followed George Floyd’s death in Minnesota, but before a monthly jobs report on Friday showed the economy may be picking up faster than feared.
The survey was also taken as the Covid-19 death toll in the U.S. passed 100,000 and continued to tick higher. It has now exceeded 110,000.
A combined 63% of voters said they were either very or somewhat worried that they or someone in their family could catch Covid-19. That was down from 73% in April, with much of the decline coming from people who identified as Republicans.
Some 46% of voters termed the current state of the economy as “poor,” the highest percentage on that question since September 2012. About a third, 31%, said it was “only fair,” while 17% said the economy was good and 5% termed it excellent.
Fear of Flying
When asked when the coronavirus will be contained in the U.S., to the point that the economy can return to normal, 35% said in the next year, up from 26% in the April poll, and 22% said in the next few months, down from 45%. The poll found 17% saying the restart will take more than a year, up from 6% two months ago.
Almost two-thirds of respondents, 66%, said they would be uncomfortable flying on an airplane at the moment or attending a large public gathering. Some 54% said they would be uncomfortable eating at a restaurant.
Friday’s monthly payrolls report, which showed a record 2.5 million workers were added by employers in May and a decline in the unemloyment rate to 13.3%, might change that assessment.
Nationally, Joe Biden was ahead of Trump by 7 points in the NBC-Wall Street Journal poll, 49% to 42%. That was unchanged from April.
The survey of 1,000 registered voters had an overall margin of error of plus or minus 3.1. percent. The margin of error on the “out of control” question was plus or minus 3.6 percent.
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