Poll: 80% of voters say U.S. is "spiraling" out of control
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The U.S. flag flying in Butler, Pennsylvania, in the wake of the Trump rally shooting. Photo: Jeff Swensen/Getty Images
Some four in every five voters feel the U.S. is "spiraling" out of control after the attempted assassination of former President Trump, per a new poll of 1,202 U.S. adults.
The big picture: 86% of those surveyed in the Reuters-Ipsos poll that was published Tuesday agreed that "acts of violence" were "throwing this country into chaos" during a turbulent election year.
- The two-day poll, which closed Tuesday and included 992 registered voters, showed that 56% were "very concerned" about this and 30% were "somewhat concerned" following Saturday's Pennsylvania rally shooting that killed one spectator and wounded two others.
By the numbers: 64% of Democrats polled were "very concerned," as were 53% of Republicans and 54% of independents.
- The share of voters who cited fears that extremists will commit acts of violence after the election rose by 10 percentage points from 74% in a May poll to 84%.
- The percent of those surveyed who said violence as a means to a political goal was acceptable fell from 12% in a June 2023 poll to just 5% of the sample questioned this month.
Flashback: Nearly a quarter of respondents in a 2023 Public Religion Research Institute/Brookings Institution survey agreed that "patriots may have to resort to violence in order to save our country."
Zoom out: The poll did not show a significant shift in the presidential race.
- Trump found a slight lead among registered voters (43% to President Biden's 41%), which fell within the poll's 3 percentage point margin of error.
Zoom in: Several media personalities and Trump himself have suggested his survival was a miracle and that the GOP nominee was spared by divine intervention.
- 66% percent of registered Republicans surveyed said Trump was "favored by divine providence or God's will," while only 11% of Democrats agreed.
The bottom line: Saturday's shooting has intensified fears of political violence among lawmakers and inspired scrutiny of the Secret Service as concerns circulate about how a gunman was able to get a clear shot of a former president.
- Both Biden and Trump have attempted to invoke messages of unity following the attack.
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