Most Americans are worried over states reopening too fast: Poll
According to a new AP-NORC poll, a majority of Americans are nervous that lifting restrictions and reopening the economy, could lead to new infections. Yahoo Finance's Editor-in-Chief Andy Serwer
Video Transcript
ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: And as just about every state now in the US has reopened to some extent, a majority of Americans are sending a very clear signal to government officials-- take your time. That is the finding of a new AP-NORC poll which says the vast majority of Americans fear lifting restrictions will lead to more infections, and even a majority of Republicans say keeping some restrictions in place are appropriate.
Our Editor-in-Chief Andy Serwer is with us now for this. Andy, I have to say I wasn't too surprised to hear these findings. What about you?
ANDY SERWER: Well, you know, it really depends on how you look at it, Alexis. I think a lot of people see the demonstrations, for instance, at the Michigan statehouse where, you know, hundreds of people showed up, very vocal. Some of them had firearms. People are concerned. They want, you know, to take back America, open up America.
And you can extrapolate and say, well, jeez, it must be like, you know, over 50% of people in Michigan want to open up the state. Well, no. That's not the case. I mean, again, you're talking about literally hundreds of people in a state with a lot more than that. So I think people have to be very careful about a vocal minority representing anything more than that.
And this new poll from the AP that you're talking about here, you know, it suggests that 70% of Republicans are concerned about reopening America leading to new infections. And so, you know, there you have it.
BRIAN SOZZI: You know, Andy too, it's just not even-- I mean, the reopenings are a major issue, of course, but I think what's getting lost a little bit is, like, reopenings are looking different. It's not like businesses are returning back to normal and everything is-- I mean, look at restaurants. Lot of social distancing going on there. Pretty much retailers curbside delivery only. The landscape has changed dramatically.
ANDY SERWER: Yeah, I think that's a very good point, Brian. A lot of people think that it's a binary kind of decision, that you're either at home and you can't go out at all or we're back to a free for all that we Americans love so much. You want to go to the Yankees game. I know Alexis wants to do that so desperately with her kids, for instance. But--
ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: You know me. You know my household. That is true.
ANDY SERWER: That's right. But that kind of thing is not going to happen for a while, and so it's very nuanced. It's going to take steps, and it's going to happen differently in different areas. I mean, we're going to see restaurants with social distancing, offices with social distancing. You know, if you're in a situation where you're at a farmer's market like I've been over the weekend, people are spreading out. There are going to be different ways of paying for cash, paying for, you know, things as well. So expect things to be a little different and to change and to vary greatly in terms of where you are.
ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Well, do you think then, Andy, that the Trump administration is a little out of touch with what Americans are feeling and going through right now? Because President Trump continues to push for a big reopening, and we know that he has always sort of talked about the economy and taken the credit for a good economy and a good stock market, even when he was on the campaign trail. So is this more about politics reopening the economy, do you think, for President Trump?
ANDY SERWER: Oh, for sure. I mean, there's a couple things going on with Donald Trump if I can put him on the couch for a second, Alexis, right? Number one-- I mean, first of all, he is a master of rhetoric. So in other words, if he's hoping to get a 75, he's going to be asking for 100, right? And so I think even he knows that, number one.
Number two, he desperately wants, like any president, perhaps, to get re-elected. Fair enough. So he wants to make sure that the economy is going full bore. Possibly at the expense of more people getting sick? Yes. That's a calculus that he seems to be willing to take, and maybe other people are as well.
And then I think it also-- the third point is that it really helps to energize his base. Those people I was talking about at the state house in Michigan and their brethren all across the country get energized by this, and there's a conspiracy, and we need to take back America, and you can see where that's going. So all that plays into, yes, November, the big election coming up.
ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: All right. And you know, we've been talking about it a lot here and on the "Electionomics" podcast with Rick Newman that a lot of polls are now pointing to Americans being dissatisfied with the way President Trump has handled this pandemic and how the coronavirus may actually be the thorn in his side for re-election. Andy Serwer, thanks as always. We'll see you soon.
ANDY SERWER: Thank you.