4 in 5 say US is falling apart: survey

Approximately 4 in 5 Americans said they believe the United States is falling apart, according to a new Axios-Ipsos poll released one week after the deadly pro-Trump riot at the U.S. Capitol. 

The poll, which included interviews with more than 1,000 adults from Monday to Wednesday, found that most respondents either strongly or somewhat agreed with the statement “America is falling apart.”

At the same time, a similar proportion of those surveyed indicated that they are “proud to be an American.” 

The poll, which reported a margin of error of about 4.6 percentage points, was released the same day the House voted along bipartisan lines to impeach President Trump for his role in the Capitol riot, making him the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice. 

The Axios-Ipsos poll found that support among Americans for removing Trump from office with just days left in his term increased by 5 percentage points from just after the riot last week. 

The survey released Wednesday found that 56 percent of Americans agree that Trump should be immediately removed from office, up from 51 percent who said the same last week. 

While there is overwhelming support for Trump’s removal among liberals and moderate Democrats, with each at 92 percent, 94 percent of those who identified as the president’s supporters disagreed, and 66 percent of “traditional Republicans” surveyed also opposed the move. 

Among Trump supporters, 91 percent back the president’s continued challenge of election results, which initially served as the basis for a “Stop the Steal” rally ahead of the violent Capitol riot. Trump at the rally encouraged a crowd of supporters to march to Congress to vocalize their opposition to the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s win, with the president repeating his unproven claims of a “stolen” election. 

Five people died as a result of the chaos at the riot, including a Capitol Police officer and a woman shot by a plainclothes officer. Three others died after experiencing “medical emergencies” near the Capitol grounds. 

The FBI has warned of the possibility of continued violence beginning Saturday in the lead-up to Biden’s inauguration next week. In a CBS News-YouGov poll released Wednesday, about 64 percent of Americans said they believed it is either somewhat or very likely there will be more attempted violence in Washington, D.C., next week. 

When it comes to impeaching Trump, a Morning Consult-Politico survey conducted before the House’s vote Wednesday found that 53 percent supported House impeachment, with 54 percent saying the Senate should convict Trump and remove him from office. 

A Hill-HarrisX poll released Wednesday found that a plurality of voters, 44 percent, supported impeachment and removal, while 18 percent said Trump should be censured and 38 percent said no action should be taken toward him.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Wednesday that a Senate impeachment trial for Trump likely won’t start until Tuesday, just one day before Biden’s inauguration. McConnell also said he has not yet decided whether he will vote to convict or acquit Trump.