Two polls published on Sunday January 2 take stock of the state of democracy in the United States. A third of those questioned condone the use of force
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A year after the violent assault on Capitol Hill, Americans remain concerned for their democracy and nearly a third consider that the use of force can sometimes be justified to defend their ideas, according to two polls published Sunday, January 2.
The attack by supporters of Donald Trump on the seat of Congress on January 6, 2021, was “a sign of growing political violence” and American democracy is still today “threatened”, estimate two-thirds of people polled by CBS News. About the “pride” Americans for their democracy, it fell to 54% against 90% in 2002, according to a daily study Washington post with the University of Maryland.
And the two surveys provide concrete grounds for concern: in the first, 28% of respondents believe that force can be used to defend the outcome of an election; in the second, 34% believe that violent action against the government can sometimes be justified.
Just before the assault on Capitol Hill, the Republican addressed his supporters in person to repeat that the election had been his. “stolen” and called them to “fight like devils”. Some 60% of Americans therefore think that he has a strong responsibility for their intrusion into Congress, at the same time when elected officials were certifying the victory of Joe Biden.
These polls also illustrate the persistence of deep divisions within American society, which the new president Joe Biden had yet promised to “reconcile”. Two-thirds of Donald Trump’s voters continue to believe that the Democrat was not legitimately elected and that fraud took place during the 2020 ballot, in accordance with the speech hammered without proof by his predecessor. Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will speak on Thursday to mark the anniversary of the January 6, 2021 assault.