Overwhelming majority of Americans think Trump shouldn't encourage stay-at-home protests, poll finds


A majority of Americans opposes recent protests against stay-at-home orders during the coronavirus crisis and feels President Trump should not encourage them, a new poll has found.
In a CBS News poll released on Thursday, 62 percent of respondents said they oppose those protesting coronavirus lockdowns in state capitals recently, with 23 percent saying they support them. A plurality of Republicans, 46 percent, said they oppose the protesters.
Asked if Trump should encourage these kinds of protests, just 7 percent of respondents said he should, while 55 percent said he should discourage them and 38 percent said he shouldn't say anything about the protests at all. Only 13 percent of Republicans said Trump should encourage the protesters.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"In fact, only a quarter of people who support the protesters think the president should encourage the protests," CBS writes.
Trump last week tweeted calls to "liberate" numerous states with stay-at-home orders, although on Wednesday, he criticized Georgia's governor for his plan to begin reopening some nonessential businesses, saying it's "too soon."
In the new CBS poll, 63 percent said their concern is reopening too fast rather than too slowly, and 70 percent said the country's priority should be keeping up with social distancing even if it hurts the economy in the short term. This is consistent with other recent polls, and on Wednesday, an Associated Press poll found that 61 percent say current social distancing measures are about right, with another 26 percent saying they don't go far enough.
The CBS poll was conducted by speaking to a sample of 2,112 U.S. residents from April 20-22. The margin of error is 2.5 percentage points. Read more at CBS.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
How China is battling the chikungunya virus
Under The Radar Thousands of cases of the debilitating disease have been found in the country
-
Deep thoughts: AI shows its math chops
Feature Google's Gemini is the first AI system to win gold at the International Mathematical Olympiad
-
Book reviews: 'Face With Tears of Joy: A Natural History of Emoji' and 'Blood Harmony: The Everly Brothers Story'
Feature The surprising history of emojis and the brother duo who changed pop music
-
Trump picks conservative BLS critic to lead BLS
speed read He has nominated the Heritage Foundation's E.J. Antoni to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics
-
Trump takes over DC police, deploys National Guard
Speed Read The president blames the takeover on rising crime, though official figures contradict this concern
-
Trump sends FBI to patrol DC, despite falling crime
Speed Read Washington, D.C., 'has become one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the world,' Trump said
-
Trump officials reinstating 2 Confederate monuments
Speed Read The administration has plans to 'restore Confederate names and symbols' discarded in the wake of George Floyd's 2020 murder
-
Trump nominates Powell critic for vacant Fed seat
speed read Stephen Miran, the chair of Trump's Council of Economic Advisers and a fellow critic of Fed chair Jerome Powell, has been nominated to fill a seat on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors
-
ICE scraps age limits amid hiring push
Speed Read Anyone 18 or older can now apply to be an ICE agent
-
Trump's global tariffs take effect, with new additions
Speed Read Tariffs on more than 90 US trading partners went into effect, escalating the global trade war
-
House committee subpoenas Epstein files
Speed Read The House Oversight Committee has issued a subpoena to the Justice Department for its Jeffrey Epstein files with an Aug. 19 deadline