Most Americans worry about politicians' hate speech inciting violence
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Most Americans (78%) believe elected officials should avoid aggressive communication over concerns it might inspire violent behavior, a new Pew Research Center survey found.
The big picture: President Trump and lawmakers in both parties have leaned more heavily on inflammatory language to attack opponents' policies and viewpoints as the nation's politics grow increasingly polarized.
By the numbers: 75% of Republicans and Republican leaners agree politicians' aggressive speech could incite violence — up from 56% in early 2024, while Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents' views have remained unchanged since the question was first asked in 2019.
- Only 20% of survey respondents from both parties say politicians should be able to use aggressive language without worrying about how others might act in response.
State of play: In the past two years, the nation has witnessed two assassination attempts against the president, an act of arson against Gov. Josh Shapiro's (D-Pa.) home, the shooting of Minnesota lawmakers and the killing of Charlie Kirk.
- Threats against members of Congress also skyrocketed in 2024. As a result, the U.S. House is dramatically increasing funding available to lawmakers for their personal security starting next month.
Of note: While both Democrats and Republicans have been targeted in recent acts of violence, far-left extremist attacks outnumbered far-right violence for the first time in 30 years, research from the Center for Strategic & International Studies revealed halfway through 2025.
Methodology: The nationwide poll was conducted Aug. 4-10, 2025. Online and telephone interviews were conducted with a random sample of 3,554 adults. The overall margin of sampling error is +/- 1.8 percentage points.
