A significant portion of Americans have expressed the belief that violence could be necessary to reinstate Donald Trump to the presidency. Moreover, they believe it could be justifiable. According to a recent survey, the number of individuals who hold this viewpoint has risen from approximately 12 million to 18 million amid the former president’s legal troubles.
Dangers to Democracy
The survey, conducted by the Chicago Project on Security Threats, has been aptly titled “Dangers to Democracy.” Its findings suggest that a greater number of people now find it acceptable to resort to violent force to restore Donald Trump to the presidency.
A Backdrop of Escalated Political Tensions
The findings emerged amidst a backdrop of escalated political tensions, with the emergence of various hate groups endorsing the former president’s cause on social media and Donald Trump Jr. claiming that charges against his father could lead to the downfall of civilization.
A Very Skeptical Nation
Another noteworthy revelation from the survey indicated that approximately 40% of Americans harbor at least one form of deep skepticism toward the nation’s democratic institutions. Furthermore, around 20% of Americans entertain anti-democratic conspiracy theories related to the country’s governance.
A Dangerous Thing to Discuss
The situation isn’t helped by former President Trump, who has shared posts, videos, and interviews promoting his provocative rhetoric. In relation to his legal troubles, he said: “It’s a very dangerous thing to even talk about because we do have a tremendously passionate group of voters, much more passion than they had in 2020 and much more passion than they had in 2016.”
Trump Posted a Threat
Notably, the former president reposted a video snippet featuring his voice warning of severe consequences for those who, in his view, work against the United States. “If you [mess] around with us, if you do something bad to us, we are going to do things to you that have never been done before,” he said in the clip. While the audio was originally part of Trump’s 2020 speech about Iran, the MAGA-affiliated account that originally posted it did not provide context.
Former Vice President Pence Isn’t Worried
Former Vice President Mike Pence, a potential GOP presidential candidate, expressed a lack of concern about Trump inciting violence. In an interview with CNN, he said: “It doesn’t worry me because I have more confidence in the American people. I would say not just the majority but virtually everyone in our movement are patriotic or law-and-order people who would never have done anything like that.”
The Former Vice President Elaborated
Dana Bash from CNN challenged Pence’s stance, noting the attempted violence against him on January 6th. Pence replied: “There’s been an effort to take those that perpetrated violence on January 6th and use a broad brush to describe everyone in our movement. It’s not the case.”
A Divided Response
News of the survey’s worrisome findings was shared across the internet and responses were divided. For the most part, people found them highly concerning. On the other hand, fans of Trump doubled down and supported the idea that violence could be justifiable to get him back into power.
The State of Democracy
A fair few commenters were concerned about the state of democracy. “How could so many people want to destroy democracy for one man and one party?” one individual asked, gaining over 1,000 likes. “Cult,” one person replied bluntly. “Ignorance,” another added. “Because of religion,” a third speculated.
Justifying Violent Force
On the other hand, supporters of the potential felon were as passionate as ever. “Trump needs to be back in office and he will in 2024,” one individual wrote. “Jan 6th was the right idea. They went about it wrong,” another said. “Sometimes force is required for justice to prevail,” a third added.
Hitler vs. Trump
Some commenters drew parallels between the former president and Adolf Hitler. “[Trump supporters] have failed to learn the lessons of history. Obviously, they skimmed over the parts of world history where Adolf Hitler rose to power in 1930s Germany and are helping Trump follow in Hitler’s hate-filled footsteps,” one person wrote.
A Spoiled 8-Year-Old
Overwhelmingly, commenters condemned violence. One such individual wrote: “No use of force is justified to restore anyone to office, especially the Orange Elephant. He has been an embarrassment to this country since day one. He acts like a spoiled 8-year-old.”
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