Optimism for the future of the United States took a dive amid rising concern over the delta variant and the Biden administration’s management of the virus, a new poll found.
Roughly 55% of those surveyed in the ABC News/Ipsos poll said they are pessimistic about the future of the country; a spike from 36% from a May 2 poll. People in the U.S. were 28 percentage points higher in optimism than pessimism in the May poll.
Now, only 45% of those surveyed report optimistic feelings toward the U.S., July’s poll numbers showed, dropping from 64% in May.
CIA DIRECTOR SAYS MORE THAN 95% OF OFFICERS FULLY VACCINATED
The drop in optimism appeared in Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike, as both the Republicans and Democrats saw a more than 20-point drop, while a 26-point drop was seen in independents. Approximately 71% of Democrats say they are optimistic for the country over the next year.
The plummeting optimism comes as President Joe Biden receives his lowest coronavirus handling approval rating yet. His administration received a 62% universal approval of its management of the pandemic, according to a poll by the Washington Post. Biden’s approval dropped 9 points since March, coinciding with the surge of the delta variant and health officials considering relocking down the country and reinstating public mask mandates.
Over 60% of those surveyed in the Ipsos/ABC News poll said they were either very or somewhat concerned about getting infected with the virus, while just under 40% said they were not concerned. The concern of being infected was higher in those who were at least partially vaccinated, at 67%, than those who were entirely unvaccinated, at 46%.
The delta variant makes up over 80% of current U.S. coronavirus infections. The U.S.’s daily case average was up 47% as of Friday compared to the previous week.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The poll was conducted by Ipsos and ABC News between July 23-24 using Ipsos’s KnowledgePanel and surveyed 527 adults. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.
