30% of Americans Support Violence in Politics

As reported by the Survey Center on American Life: nearly 30% of Americans believe the public should take matters into their own hands if elected leaders fail to protect this country – even if doing so requires violent action. Those in agreement include 39% of Republicans, 31% of Independents, and 17% of Democrats. However, it is worth noting that very few people enthusiastically support the use of violence in politics.

The Results

The results of the survey confirm a strong partisan divide regarding the 2020 presidential election. 31% of Americans question the legitimacy of the outcome (that’s 110 million people!). Sixty-five percent of Republicans agree that widespread voter fraud took place, compared to 22% of Independents and 2% of Democrats. 

Roughly 28% of Americans believe the 2020 election was the most important election of their lives. 38% agree that it was significant, but not the most important, and 28% view the contest as unremarkable. 

Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump was met with mixed results. 36% of Americans express relief and 14% express excitement. An additional 35% percent of Americans reported feelings of anger, fear, or disappointment. 

Democrats were far more likely to express relief than excitement. This statistic reflects the party’s initial reluctance to support Biden over more progressive candidates. Nearly 75% of Republicans described feelings of disappointment, fear, or anger; 11% of Republicans expressed relief. 

The anti-Trump sentiment is so strong on the Left that there are actually more Democrats who dislike Trump than there are Republicans who like him.

And despite mounting evidence that bad actors planned the January 6th riot well in advance, up to 50% of Americans continue to blame the incident on President Trump; nearly 50% of Republicans and 20% of Democrats blame the attack on Antifa. 

Interestingly, 63% of Republicans said they were more loyal to the GOP than to Donald Trump. This is a huge shift from last year, when polls suggested that Republicans held more faith in Trump than in the party itself.

Moving forward into the Biden Administration, Trump is likely to face a number of investigations for possible crimes committed before and during his presidency. Ninety-three percent of Democrats say this is a good idea; 82% of Republicans say this is a bad idea. 

One of the few areas of agreement on the survey was in regards to the “American way of life.” 

Nearly 70% of respondents (including 66% of Republicans) agree that the current system of Democracy benefits the wealthy at the expense of everyone else. Thirty-six percent of Americans agree with the following statement about violence in politics: “The traditional American way of life is disappearing so fast that we may have to use force to save it.” 

Despite all of the challenges we have faced over the past year, most Americans said they were “proud” to live in the US. They also agreed that the world would be better if more nations adopted western values. Nearly three-quarters of Americans agreed that the US has always been a force for good in the world. 

Author’s Note: Violence in politics should never be the first option when looking for solutions to a problem. However, there are times when it is necessary. Our forefathers used violence to establish this country and President Lincoln used violence to abolish slavery. If we need to use violence to save this country from socialism, so be it.

Sources:

AEI Poll: Nearly 3 in 10 Say Political Violence May Be Necessary

After the ballots are counted: Conspiracies, political violence, and American exceptionalism