In early March, when the number of American coronavirus cases was still low and the president himself sounded unalarmed, Republicans generally told pollsters they were unworried, too. About 40 percent of them in a national tracking poll said they were not at all concerned about an outbreak in their communities. In that same moment, hardly any Democrats agreed.
That pattern, consistent across other surveys, seemed to suggest not long ago that Americans would view even a deadly infectious disease as they have come to see so many facets of life — refracted through pure partisanship.
But more recently this picture has begun to shift. Continue reading.