More than 70 percent of Americans back Biden's pandemic response, but many are unhappy with the economy, poll finds

<p><img src="https://static1.businessinsider.com/image/60436ca244d8e300117b9703-2000/biden mask.jpg" border="0" alt="Joe Biden mask" data-mce-source="Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images" data-mce-caption="CHESTER, PA - OCTOBER 26: Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden puts on a face mask while speaking to reporters at a voter mobilization center on October 26, 2020 in Chester, Pennsylvania. In Pennsylvania, Tuesday, October 27 is the last day to request a mail-in ballot or to vote early in person."></p><p></p><bi-shortcode id="summary-shortcode" data-type="summary-shortcode" class="mceNonEditable" contenteditable="false">Summary List Placement</bi-shortcode><p>More than 70 percent of Americans approve of President Joe Biden's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new <a href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-norc-poll-americans-largely-back-biden-virus-response-d365bff571c24f9d3575bcbd051780aa">poll published by The Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research</a> on Friday.</p><p>Biden has been making the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-pandemic-plan-coronavirus-vaccines-testing-schools-2021-1">pandemic his focus</a> since he was sworn into office two months ago and there are now some signs the numbers of COVID-19 deaths and cases are plateauing across the country.</p><p>At the time of writing, more than 520,000 Americans have died from the virus, <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html">according to a tracker by Johns Hopkins University.</a>&nbsp; Biden has promised to speed up the vaccine rollout, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-us-will-have-vaccines-300-million-people-may-2021-3">saying this week</a> there will be enough vaccines for "every adult in America" by the end of May.</p><p>Support for Biden's stance on the pandemic has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-neanderthal-comment-republican-messaging-trolling-2021-3">transcended party lines</a>: Of the 70% that approved of the president's coronavirus handling, more than 40% were Republican.</p><p>The poll also found that a little less than two-thirds of Americans approved of Biden's overall job performance so far. Around 60% said they were in favor of Biden's handling of health care and race relations.</p><p>But while the president is enjoying favorable ratings in relation to the pandemic, many Americans are still unhappy about the state of the US economy.</p><p>The AP-NORC survey found that 63% believed the economy is in poor shape. Only 17% of Republicans supported Biden's fiscal stewardship. This compares to 88% of Democrats.</p><p>In recent weeks, Biden has been pushing Congress to pass<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stimulus-senate-democrats-biden-rescue-plan-timeline-mid-march-2021-2"> a $1.9 trillion pandemic rescue plan</a> that would provide assistance to millions of Americans suffering from the fallout of the pandemic.</p><p>Senate Democrats are now vowing they will approve it by March 14.</p><p>Biden <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch'v=bElfsM6lIzs">previously said that</a> his Administration must first control the virus before the economy can be fixed.</p><p>The AP-NORC poll consisted of 1,434 adults and was conducted between February 23 and March 1. &nbsp;The margin of error is 3.4 percentage points.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/majority-of-americans-back-bidens-coronavirus-response-poll-finds-2021-3#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/candy-corn-ingredients-made-of-gelatin-lac-resin-halloween-sugar-syrup-2017-10">What candy corn is actually made of</a></p>
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