July 29 (UPI) — A majority of American voters trust the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention more than the White House with regards to COVID-19 data, according to a poll by The Hill and HarrisX released Tuesday.
The survey conducted July 17-20 found that 77% of registered voters said they trust the CDC to more accurately report data related to the coronavirus, while 23% trust the White House more.
A majority of Americans said they trust the CDC more regardless of party affiliation as 93% of Democrats, 77% of independents and 59% of Republicans said they had more faith in the information provided by the agency than that provided by the White House.
The poll came after the Trump administration transferred responsibility for collecting hospitalization data on COVID-19 from the CDC to the Department of Health and Human Services.
Beginning last week, President Donald Trump has also resumed daily briefings on the coronavirus. However, unlike briefings conducted earlier in the pandemic, he has not been accompanied by members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, such as coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx and Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease.
Trump, answering a reporter’s question about the absence of the medical professionals in a briefing last week, said he had been briefed by the doctors before addressing media.
“I just spoke to Dr. Fauci. Dr. Birx is right outside and they’re giving me all of everything they know as of this point in time and I’m giving the information to you and I think it’s probably a very concise way of doing it. It seems to be working out very well,” Trump said.
