Week 16 of @NavigatorSurvey out today w/ lots of new polling on schools. This issue is complex, but one thing isn't: The public has so lost faith in Trump on the pandemic, that they just want him out of it. By 72%(!)-18% margin, they trust local/state gov't over Trump on schools.

Before diving deep into the schools data, a quick note on the President's standing. His job approval is 39%/59% in our latest poll, the worst numbers he's had during the pandemic, and matching the lowest in a Navigator poll since the beginning of our surveys in April 2018.

Beyond his overall job approval, he's now at 61% disapprove on the pandemic to -25 net approval there (it was -15 last month). And notably, his handling of the economy, while still relatively higher than other issues, has taken a dip as well to -8, a low point.

We ask each week what are the things they are hearing about Trump, and this week the list of negative things was dominated by coornavirus and his position on schools. So about the schools...

39% support and a majority oppose (51%) opening K-12 schools this fall, a significant shift since early June (was 49%/35%). Parents hold similar views. The coronavirus situation in the country is clearly having an impact, as high infection states are even more opposed.

As with many issues during the pandemic, there is nuance. If you set the issue of school reopening up with a "middle response" -- partial reopening with hybrid in-person/remote learning -- a plurality (42%) gravitates towards the middle response, while full reopening drops to 20%

The public is very cautious on schools. My "polling rule" of the pandemic is that if you always bet on the side of health & caution, then you'll probably guess the poll result. 68% say they're on the side of being cautious about opening schools, 26% on side of pushing them open.

Given that the public is very cautious and hesitant about school reopening, it should then come as no surprise that just 32% of Americans approve of the way Trump is handling the issue of school reopening. Even among GOP voters it's 67%-19%.

In recent days, the White House has upped their attacks on Dr. Fauci, and just remember they're probably looking (and brooding) at data like this showing the public trusts Fauci far more than Trump. Here on the issue of schools, 63% trust Fauci, 33% trust Trump.

What concerns the public most about Trump's push to reopen schools? It's the same issue we've seen over and over -- he's pushing to reopen unsafely, ignoring experts and saying things like he doesn't want to follow the CDC guidelines. His threat to cut funding also problematic.

Lastly, we tested some language on how to talk about school reopening. There's a lot in the text below, but clear that language that puts safety and health first tests best. Messages that don't have less resonance.

Full slide deck here. One notable thing I didn't mention much in the thread was how similar data with parents is to the overall population, which was interesting. Back tomorrow with more data Trump and on the overall state of the pandemic. https://navigatorresearch.org/navigating-coronavirus/