Americans are getting information about the coronavirus pandemic from political leaders and medical professionals, but confidence in those sources varies widely. A recent national survey conducted on behalf of the Fairleigh Dickinson University School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences finds that Americans are more likely to trust information that comes from medical professionals than politicians, with President Trump seen as least trustworthy regarding the information he provides. This and other findings from the survey suggest that Americans are putting their faith in medical expertise when it comes to getting critical information on how to best protect themselves and their loved ones from COVID-19. There are, however, substantial differences in who and what they trust based on a person’s politics and race.
The poll interviewed 1003 American adults nationwide on landlines and cell phones from May 20 through May 25, 2020. Medical professionals top the list of those Americans say they trust most for information about the coronavirus. Fifty-eight percent say they have a “great deal” of trust in doctors and scientists, while government-run websites are trusted by around a third of all Americans (36%). However, once political leaders become the source of information, Americans are more likely to distrust than trust what they see, hear, or read. Around a quarter (27%) have a great deal of trust in statewide elected officials, including their governor, and barely a fifth (22%) fully believe what their president tells them. In fact, the president is the only source who a majority (55%) of Americans distrust rather than trust.
“These findings point to the immense level of distrust Americans have in the ability of elected officials to communicate critical information needed to manage the COVID-19 pandemic and the obvious lack of meaningful leadership at the federal level,” said Bojana Beric-Stojsic, director of MPH program and an Associate Professor of Public Health, FDU School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. “What is most surprising and very distressing is that only 58 percent of Americans have a great deal of trust in doctors and scientists in the midst of a health crisis.”
Americans do give doctors and scientists much higher marks than the president when it comes to evaluating the reasons for evolving and sometimes conflicting information. Almost eight-in-ten believe that doctors and scientists change their recommendations on how to prevent and treat the coronavirus based on newly discovered scientific evidence (77%) rather than bowing to political pressure (23%). The opposite is true when it comes to the president, as more than half (53%) say his recommendations often change for political reasons rather than newly emerging scientific evidence (47%).
There is, however, a significant partisan divide on these issues. Although clear majorities of both Democrats and Republicans say that changing recommendations from doctors and scientists are due to newly discovered scientific evidence, President Trump’s evolving statements are understood very differently. Eighty-four percent of Republicans believe science dictates the president’s statements, while virtually the same percentage of Democrats (86%) believe political pressures explain changes in President Trump’s public statements about how to prevent and treat COVID-19. A huge gap between Democrats and Republicans also characterizes perceptions of the overall trustworthiness of the president (3% versus 47%), with a smaller but still significant difference separating Democrats from Republicans on their willingness to extend a “great deal” of trust to statewide elected officials like the governor (36% versus 20%).
“It’s notable that not even among his own partisans and those who approve of the job he’s done in managing this crisis does the President get a majority to say the information he provides about the coronavirus can be trusted a great deal,” said Krista Jenkins, director of the FDU Poll and professor of government and politics.
There are also significant racial disparities in assessing Trump’s performance and trustworthiness. More black Americans (83%) disapprove of the President’s management of the pandemic compared to 43 percent of white and 62 percent of Hispanic respondents; and 70 percent of blacks have absolutely no trust that the President provides accurate information about the coronavirus, compared to 37 percent of whites and 44 percent of Hispanics. More black Americans (79%) also believe Trump changes his recommendations about the coronavirus due to political pressure compared to 47 percent of whites and 60 percent of Hispanics.
