Majority of Americans Think Political Violence Increasingly Likely, Poll Finds

On Saturday afternoon, former President Trump survived an assassination attempt during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Now, the majority of U.S. adults think that today’s polarizing political climate makes political violence more likely than usual, a snap YouGov poll finds.

The poll conducted after the shooting on Saturday found that 67% of the 4,339 respondents said that the “current political climate” is making politically motivated violence more likely than normal. Only 8% said political violence is less likely than normal, and 10% said it is as likely as normal. Additionally, 82% said that political violence is “a very big problem” or “somewhat of a problem” in the U.S. today.

Since the assassination attempt on Saturday, many have criticized Biden and Democrats for increasingly extreme rhetoric about the dangers that Trump poses to America. On Saturday, Rep. Mike Collins from Georgia wrote on X, “Joe Biden sent the orders,” quoting a post that showed Biden telling donors last week, “I have one job, and that’s to beat Donald Trump. I’m absolutely certain I’m the best person to be able to do that. So, we’re done talking about the debate, it’s time to put Trump in a bullseye.”

Since the attack, Biden has clarified his position: “There’s no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it,” Biden said in a statement on Saturday night.

The poll also found that only 20% of respondents were “very confident” that the Secret Service can protect presidential candidates from harm. Another 62% were “somewhat confident” or “not very confident,” and 7% were not at all confident.

The founder of the private military contracting company Blackwater, Erik Prince, echoed these concerns. On Sunday, he wrote on X, “The fact that USSS allowed a rifle-armed shooter within 150 yards of a preplanned event is either malice or massive incompetence.” Prince also outlined what he viewed as the failures of the Secret Service, including a law enforcement sniper who “was clearly overwhelmed as his face came off his rifle instead of doing his job to kill the shooter.”

“Clearly USSS failed at the basics of a secure perimeter, and once shots were fired their extraction was clumsy and left DJT highly exposed to follow-on attacks,” Prince continued.

House Oversight Committee Republicans had already been investigating the Secret Service for several months before the assassination attempt on Saturday. The investigation was launched following a recent incident where a female Secret Service agent tasked with protecting Vice President Kamala Harris was removed from her duties after attacking superior agents during a mental breakdown.