57 Percent of Republicans Say US Death Toll Stemming From Coronavirus Is ‘Acceptable’

More than half of Republicans consider the U.S. death toll from the coronavirus “acceptable,” according to a new poll released on Sunday. The poll was published just as the death toll passed 176,000 this weekend, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Three-quarters of Republicans also believe the country is better off after four years of President Donald Trump in office, while 65% of all voters said it is not.

The new national CBS News/YouGov poll found that 57% of Republicans believe the death toll is “acceptable,” while 90% of Democrats disagree. Thirty-three percent of independent voters said the death toll is “acceptable,” while 67% said it was “unacceptable.” The poll also found a partisan divide when it comes to trust in the coronavirus data. Sixty-four percent of GOP voters believe fewer Americans have died from the virus than reported, while 44% of all voters believe the death toll is higher.

Seventy-three percent of Republicans also believe the U.S. response to the coronavirus is “going well,” while 62% of all voters polled believe otherwise. Republicans are also confident in the economy, with 67% believing the economy is good, even though the Department of Labor’s latest monthly employment report showed the unemployment rate is at 10.2%. Eighty-two percent of Republican registered voters believe America is better off because of their confidence in Trump.

The poll was conducted from Aug. 19-21, with 2,226 registered voters responding. CBS News and YouGov also polled 957 registered voters after the Democratic National Convention, between Aug. 20 to 22. Democrats who watched the convention showed more positive support for the party’s nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden. Seventy-eight percent of Democrats said the convention made them feel more positive about Biden.

After the convention, Biden held on to his lead nationally against Trump. The poll found Biden up 52% to 42% over Trump. This was unchanged from the week before the convention, which continues a recent trend for Democratic challengers who have seen very little bumps in polling after conventions. The polling also showed 71% of Democrats watched “a lot” of the convention, while just 17% of independents and 11% of Republicans watched most of the event.

There are more than 5.6 million coronavirus cases in the U.S., by far the most in the world, as of Sunday, according to Johns Hopkins University. The death toll stands at 176,659 since the pandemic began earlier this year. The U.S. added 48,700 new cases on Friday, the seventh day in a row of less than 50,000 new cases nationally, reports CNBC.