As the US is nearing the number of 100,000 death from the corona virus outbreak, new data suggest a deepening divide along party lines. According to a new AP-NORC poll, Republicans are significantly more likely to resume their pre-outbreak activities than Democrats as states are easing restrictions. This includes things like going to the gym (61% to 44%) or seeing movies, concerts or theater plays (68% to 28%). The divide extends to the outlook on the economy. While 62 percent of Republicans expect that the economy will improve in the coming year, 56 percent of Democrats expect it to worsen.
Interestingly, a majority of respondents in a different poll approve of President Trump’s handling of the economy. A majority of the public (57%) and the crucial block of undecided voters known as “swing voters” (59%) continue to approve of President Trump’s handling of the nation’s economy.
Part of the explanation for this deep partisan divide can be found in the pattern in which the virus affected different parts of the country. Blue America, i.e. counties that vote predominantly Democratic, have been affected more by the pandemic than the red parts of the country. Counties in which Trump carried a majority in 2016 have reported 27 percent of the virus infections and 21 percent of the deaths — although 45 percent of Americans live in these communities.
Accordingly, Democrats are almost twice as likely as Republicans (70% v. 37%) to say they wear a mask “every time” they leave their house. But beyond these reasons, there rages an ideological battle that has become a “flash point in the virus culture wars” with people being harassed because they are wearing masks in public. It remains to be seen if a second wave in infections predicted by many health experts will change the perception and bring voters of different parties together more closely. After a recent spike in cases in Arkansas, the governor there said that staying inside is “contrary to the American spirit”.