Los Angeles County residents have far more confidence in state and local officials to lead them through the coronavirus outbreak than they do President Trump, a new poll has found.
The poll, by the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University, reported that 85% or more of respondents had confidence in California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and the Los Angeles County Health Department, while only 38% had confidence in President Trump.
Those who identified as politically conservative tended to be more skeptical both of the stay-at-home orders and of the level of threat posed by the virus. Only 76% of them viewed the virus as a real threat compared with 91% among liberals.
Conservatives also saw themselves as less vulnerable, with 74% saying they worried they would catch the virus, compared with 85% of liberals.
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Despite suffering economically from the extensive shutdown of businesses, residents overwhelmingly supported the stay-at-home orders issued by Newsom and Garcetti with 77% saying they strongly support the orders and 18% supporting them somewhat.
And 86% said they wanted local authorities to take over hotels and motels if it became necessary to quarantine people most at risk for coronavirus and COVID-19 patients.
Nearly half of households in Los Angeles County have lost a job or had their work hours cut because of the coronavirus outbreak, and another 10% have lost other sources of income, the poll found.
The economic hit was harder among the young and those who already had a lower household income.
