Republicans increasingly viewed by Americans as the party of violence

Daily Kos Staff

Thursday July 21, 2022 · 12:24 PM PDT

2022/07/21 · 12:24

Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as people try to storm the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021. - Demonstrators breeched security and entered the Capitol as Congress debated the a 2020 presidential election Electoral Vote Certification. (Photo by Joseph Prezioso / AFP) (Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images) — Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as people try to storm the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021.

A new poll from the progressive consortium Navigator Research finds that a plurality of Americans agree that “people who support the Republican Party are inclined to resort to violence when they’re pushing their agenda or worldview.”

The survey found that 44% of respondents agreed with the statement, while 34% disagreed. The numbers are nearly mirror opposite for Democrats, with just 35% saying Democrats' supporters are likely to resort to violence, while 45% disagree.

Independents were 19 points more likely to view Republican supporters as likely to use violent means (40% agree) than Democratic supporters (21% agree).

Bar graph showing that more Americans view supporters of the GOP as prone to resorting to violence.

The findings of the survey come as House Democrats have shifted toward a strategy of emphasizing the extremism of both Republican candidates and the MAGA movement. The Jan. 6 hearings appear to be helping their case as the nation awaits another primetime hearing Thursday (starting at 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT).

When the survey asked those who viewed GOP supporters as more violence-prone an open-ended question about why, the dominant themes centered around “January 6th,” “Trump,” “white groups,” and “Proud Boys.”

Bar graph showing that Jan. 6 and Donald Trump were cited most by those who view GOP supporters as prone to violence.

By a 20-point margin, the Navigator survey found Americans support the Justice Department filing criminal charges against Donald Trump for his involvement in Jan. 6 (56% support, 36% oppose). Independents support filing charges by a 24-point margin (50% support, 26% oppose). The bar graph below notes too that support for filing charges increases—9 points among independents, 13 points among Republicans—after respondents read recent revelations from the select committee’s inquiry into Jan. 6 hearings. So the more people know, the better.

Bar graph showing that 56% of Americans favor filing charged against Trump for his involvement in Jan. 6, a number that increases once people are read a series of revelations uncovered by the select committee investigating Jan. 6.

An NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll similarly found a 57% majority of Americans say Trump bears either a great deal or good deal of responsibility for the Jan. 6 insurrection.

But the NPR poll found that just half of the respondents think Trump should be charged with a crime, while 45% say he shouldn't—a much smaller divide than Navigator found. However, the number of Americans who think Trump actually will be charged sits at just 28% in the NPR survey.

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Republicans increasingly viewed by Americans as the party of violence

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