Poll: Majority of Americans now disapprove of Trump's coronavirus response

Support for President Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic has diminished over the past two weeks, according to a new survey, with a majority of Americans now disapproving of his response to the public health crisis.

An ABC News/Ipsos poll released Friday reports that 52 percent of respondents disapprove of his management of the deadly outbreak, while only 47 percent approve.

The president's latest rating in the survey shows Trump's support backsliding from the levels he achieved in mid-March, when more than half of Americans, 55 percent, approved of his response and 43 percent disapproved.

Since that previous iteration of the poll was published on March 20, the administration extended its social-distancing guidelines for another 30 days and worked to increase its testing capacity for the virus.

But Trump also drew significant criticism for his initial reluctance to invoke the Defense Production Act to furnish much-needed medical equipment for states, and was forced to abandon his proposal to reopen the economy by Easter, which contradicted the advice of public health experts.

At the same time, the administration has begun issuing more dire warnings regarding the severity of the outbreak, predicting that as many as 240,000 people could die even if Americans heed the federal government's guidance, and the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 has soared beyond 245,000.

Friday's survey is the latest example of public polling to show support for the White House's coronavirus response dwindling after Trump initially received higher marks for his efforts to stem the disease's rapid spread.

A POLITICO/Morning Consult poll released Wednesday reported that 47 percent of voters feel the administration is not doing enough to fight the virus, and 40 percent feel the administration is doing the right amount. Two weeks prior, 43 percent said the administration was not doing enough, and 39 percent said it was doing the right amount.

The ABC News/Ipsos poll was conducted April 1-2, surveying 559 adults. Its margin of sampling error is plus or minus 4.8 percentage points.