Amid campaign turmoil, Biden holds wide leads on coronavirus, unifying the country

With less than a month to go before the November election, voters are far more likely to express confidence in Joe Biden than Donald Trump to handle the public health impact of COVID-19 and to unify the country. Voters also view Biden much more positively than Trump for compassion, honesty and being a good role model, though Trump holds a narrow edge on standing up for his beliefs. Comparable majorities of both candidates’ supporters say it “really matters” who wins in November, with large majorities on both sides saying a win by the opposing candidate would lead to “lasting harm” for the country.

• Voters anxiously approach an unusual election – and its potentially uncertain aftermath
• How important is climate change to voters in the 2020 election?
• More U.S. voters have ‘cold’ than ‘warm’ feelings for Mike Pence and Kamala Harris

Amid national reckoning, Americans divided on whether increased focus on race will lead to major policy change

Americans are about evenly split on whether the recent increased focus on issues of racial inequality in the U.S. will lead to major policy changes. And a sizable share (46%) say it will not lead to changes that will improve the lives of Black people. About eight-in-ten Democrats (78%) now say the country hasn’t gone far enough when it comes to Black people having equal rights with White people, up from 66% in 2019. Just 17% of Republicans say this, similar to the share who did so last year (18%).

Unfavorable views of China reach historic highs in many countries

Amid widespread criticism over how China has handled the coronavirus pandemic, majorities in 14 surveyed countries have an unfavorable opinion of the nation, and in nine countries, negative views have reached their highest points since we began polling on this topic more than a decade ago. Across the nations surveyed, a median of 61% say China has done a bad job dealing with the outbreak.

• Negative views of both U.S. and China abound across advanced economies amid COVID-19
• In Europe, more see China as world’s top economic power than U.S.
• Little confidence in Xi to do the right thing in world affairs

Before Trump tested positive for coronavirus, Republicans’ attention to pandemic had sharply declined

About six-in-ten Americans (61%) say the country has not controlled the coronavirus outbreak as much as it could have. At the same time, about four-in-ten (39%) believe that the outbreak has been made into a bigger deal than it really is. Deep disagreement on these issues exists between Democrats and Republicans. And within the GOP, opinions vary considerably based on where people get their political and election news.

• Explore the results of 400+ survey questions in our American News Pathways data tool

What lessons do Americans see for humanity in the pandemic?

A large majority of U.S. adults (86%) say there is some kind of lesson or set of lessons for humankind to learn from the pandemic, and 35% say the lessons were sent by God. We analyzed more than 3,700 written answers about the lessons people perceive. There are a few common themes, including practical lessons, such as wearing a mask; personal lessons, like remembering the importance of spending time with family and loved ones; and societal lessons, such as the need for universal health care.

In U.S. and UK, globalization leaves some feeling ‘left behind’ or ‘swept up’

Focus groups held across the U.S. and UK in 2019 helped us better understand how people felt about globalization. While participants found “globalization” difficult to define, they were able to describe its impacts on their local communities and on their countries, often in very similar terms. Those who embraced globalization tended to be those who perceived it creating community beyond their neighborhoods or national boundaries.

• Decoded: How focus groups informed our study about nationalism and international engagement in the U.S. and UK

Key facts about women’s suffrage around the world, a century after U.S. ratified 19th Amendment

Most Americans see a place for anonymous sources in news stories, but not all the time

Partisans in the U.S. increasingly divided on whether offensive content online is taken seriously enough

5 facts about the Supreme Court

From our research