TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Four in five Americans fear country is sliding into chaos, poll finds
The shooting brought back memories of turbulent political periods such as the 1960s, when Democratic President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, followed by the killing of Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy in 1968.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Members of the US National Guard stand watch at the US Capitol in Washington, DC on January 17, 2021, during a nationwide protest called by anti-government and far-right groups supporting then US president Donald Trump and his claim of electoral fraud in the November 3 presidential election. (Agence France Presse/Andrew Cabellero Reynolds)
A
mericans fear their country is spiraling out of control following an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, with worries growing that the Nov. 5 election could spark more political violence, a Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on Tuesday found.
The two-day poll found Republican presidential candidate Trump opening a marginal lead among registered voters - 43 percent to 41 percent - over Democratic US President Joe Biden, an advantage that was within the poll's 3 percentage point margin of error, suggesting the attempt on Trump's life had not sparked a major shift in voter sentiment.
But 80 percent of voters - including similar shares of Democrats and Republicans - said they agreed with a statement that "the country is spiraling out of the control." The poll, which was conducted online, surveyed 1,202 US adults nationwide, including 992 registered voters.
Trump narrowly avoided death on Saturday when a would-be assassin's bullet grazed his ear as he spoke at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. Blood trickled across his face and he defiantly pumped his fist in the air, mouthing the words "Fight! Fight! Fight!" as he was rushed offstage. A rally attendee was slain and two others seriously injured.
The shooting brought back memories of turbulent political periods such as the 1960s, when Democratic President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, followed by the killing of Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy in 1968.
Some 84 percent of voters in the poll said they were concerned that extremists will commit acts of violence after the election, an increase from the results of a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in May that showed 74 percent of voters having that fear.
Fears of political violence became more prominent in America after thousands of Trump supporters attacked the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in a bid to overturn Trump's election loss to Biden. Four people died on the day of the attack, and one Capitol Police officer who fought against the rioters died the next day.
While Americans said they feared violence, few condoned it. Just 5 percent of respondents said it was acceptable for someone in their political party to commit violence to achieve a political goal, down from 12 percent in a Reuters/Ipsos poll from June 2023.
Some 67 percent of respondents in the latest poll said they were concerned about acts of violence against their community because of their political beliefs, compared to 60 percent in a Reuters/Ipsos poll from June 2023. Bipartisan majorities in the latest poll said they were concerned Americans could resort to violence instead of coming together peacefully to solve disagreements.
The attempt on Trump's life has dominated media headlines and fueled discussion among some of his conservative Christian supporters that he was protected by God.
In the Reuters/Ipsos poll, 65 percent of registered Republicans said Trump's survival showed he was "favored by divine providence or God's will." Eleven percent of Democrats agreed.
The United States stands out among rich nations for its embrace of religion, with evangelical Christians largely aligned with the Republican Party in recent decades. Some 77 percent of Americans surveyed in 2022 said they believed in God, compared to 56 percent of Canadians and 39% of British respondents, according to a poll by the Gallup International Association.
