A disturbing new poll revealed that one-third of Republicans believe that violence may be necessary “in order to save our country.”
The poll, from the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), demonstrates the hold that conspiracy theories and lies have on the GOP even with Trump out of office. Robert Jones, the CEO and founder of PRRI, told Yahoo News that he found the survey results “alarming.”
“I’ve been doing this a while, for decades, and it’s not the kind of finding that as a sociologist, a public opinion pollster, that you’re used to seeing,” he said.
Among former President Trump’s supporters, the portion who endorse violence is even higher, with 39 percent agreeing it may be necessary. A smaller but not insignificant segment of independents (17 percent) and Democrats (11 percent) also agreed that “true American patriots may have to resort to violence in order to save our country” because “things have gotten so far off track.”
The belief is a core tenet of the QAnon movement, the institute said. The survey revealed how strong of a hold QAnon has on the population. Eighteen percent of all respondents, Republican and Democrat, said they agreed that the U.S. government, media, and financial worlds are “controlled by a group of Satan-worshipping pedophiles who run a global child sex-trafficking operation.” Democrats, however, were 2.5 times more likely to reject QAnon beliefs than Republicans.
The institute asked respondents about their views on the 2020 presidential election, and two-thirds of Republicans endorsed the statement that the election was “stolen” from Trump. Among Republicans who watch Fox News, the number is 82 percent. The results are closely aligned with a Politico/Morning Consult poll released last week that found 60 percent of Republicans — and 35 percent of all voters, feel the 2020 election should “definitely” or “probably” be overturned.
The man on the losing end of that election appears to be one of the Republicans who feels violence may be necessary. The Washington Post published a bombshell report on Sunday revealing some of the conversations then-President Trump had with lawmakers on Jan. 6. During the riot, then-House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) called the president and begged him to condemn the violence. “You have to denounce this,” McCarthy told Trump.
“You know what I see, Kevin?” the president responded. “I see people who are more upset about the election than you are. They like Trump more than you do.”
Source: RollingStone
