Rising numbers of Americans concerned about political violence: poll

Sixty-four percent of Americans believe the United States will see an increase in political violence over the next few years, a figure that has steadily risen in recent months, according to a new CBS News-YouGov poll.

Just over half of Americans — 51 percent — expected an increase in political violence when the question was asked in January 2021. Fifty-seven percent said the same in December, meaning the new poll marks the first time that more than 6 in 10 Americans expressed an increased expectation of political violence.

Just 10 percent of respondents in the newest iteration of the poll said they expected a decrease in political violence in the next few years, while 26 percent said they didn’t expect the level to change.

The increasing trend comes in the months following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot in which hundreds of people stormed the building to contest President Biden’s victory in the Electoral College.

Beyond the Capitol riot, threats of political violence have become a somewhat regular occurrence on fraught national issues.

A man was arrested outside Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s home in June in the days leading up to the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. Threats against federal law enforcement have increased in recent weeks after the FBI searched former President Trump’s Florida home.

Despite increasing expectations of political violence, a significant majority — 86 percent — said force or violence is always unacceptable to achieve political goals. Fourteen percent said it can be acceptable if they feel it is necessary.

The poll also found Americans have pessimistic views about the levels of democracy and civility in the country.

Fifty-four percent of respondents said they think the United States will be less of a democracy a generation from now, compared to 19 percent who indicated they think the country will be more of a democracy.

Attempting to reverse low approval ratings bogged down by issues like inflation, President Biden in recent days has increasingly framed the upcoming midterm elections as a referendum on democracy, portraying Trump and “MAGA Republicans” as a threat to the republic.

“Not every Republican, not even a majority of Republicans, are MAGA Republicans. Not every Republican embraces their extreme ideology,” Biden said during a primetime address in Philadelphia on Thursday. 

“But there’s no question that the Republican Party today is dominated, driven and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans. And that is a threat to this country,” he added.

Trump, meanwhile, has continued to focus on his unfounded claims of voter fraud in public appearances. 

During a Saturday campaign rally in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, he called Biden an “enemy of the state” and referred to the FBI and Justice Department as “vicious monsters” after they searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.

The new poll found that 8 in 10 Americans think the level of civility in American politics in recent years has gotten worse, while just 7 percent said it has gotten better. Twelve percent said they hadn’t seen a change in civility.

The poll was conducted from Aug. 29-31 with a sample of 2,085 U.S. adults. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.