Trump’s approval rating drops amid mounting coronavirus death toll: Poll

NEW YORK, May 13 (APP):US President Donald Trump’s approval rating has dropped to 41 percent as the number of deaths caused by the coronavirus pandemic is rising in the country, and he now trails Democratic challenger and former Vice President Joe Biden by 8 percentage points among registered voters, a new poll finds.
The Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll, which was conducted on Monday and Tuesday, showed that 41% of U.S. adults approved of Trump’s performance in office, which is down 4 points from a similar poll that ran in mid-April. Fifty-six percent disapprove of Trump, up by 5 points in the same span.
The poll also shows that 46 percent of registered voters would back Biden in the November presidential election, while 38 percent would vote for Trump.
When it comes to health policies, the poll reveals that the number of those who are critical of Trump’s performance during the coronavirus pandemic is 13 percentage points more than those who approve his actions.
The Trump administration has been under unprecedented pressure over the past weeks because of downplaying the threat of the COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus, that has killed 83,564 people so far in the US, the highest death toll of any country.
On his part, Trump, the Republican president, has defended his administration’s handling of the crisis, and instead blamed China for the spread of the virus.