The majority of voters agree that “irresponsible rhetoric,” such as calling a political adversary a “threat to democracy,” has led to the recent assassination attempts on former president Donald Trump.
The poll, conducted by the Senate Opportunity Fund, found that 57 percent of voters somewhat or strongly agree that “labeling a political opponent a threat to democracy is irresponsible rhetoric which leads to political violence, like assassination attempts.”
The poll comes just a week after authorities arrested the suspect in the second attempt on Trump’s life in less than two months. Republicans, including Trump, have blamed the multiple assassination attempts against the former president on Democrats’ claims that Trump is a “threat to democracy.” Most voters align with Republicans’ views on the issue, the poll found.
The poll found that even over a third of “liberal” respondents agreed that calling Trump a “threat to democracy” led to the attempts on his life. Half of “moderate” voters and 79 percent of “conservative” respondents agreed this kind of language leads to political violence.