In light of his involvement in the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, former President Donald Trump is viewed by almost half of Americans as deserving of criminal prosecution.
The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research’s poll of U.S. adults reveals that while 31% believe the Republican former president shouldn’t be indicted, 48% believe he should because of his involvement.
Twenty per cent more claim they don’t know enough to express an opinion. 58 per cent of respondents believe Trump is largely or significantly to blame for what transpired on that day.
The survey was taken during five public hearings by the House committee looking into what happened on January 6, which aimed to portray Trump as perhaps being criminally responsible for the circumstances that resulted in a violent uprising.
However, it was taken ahead of the unexpected hearing on Tuesday that featured Cassidy Hutchinson, a former assistant to President Trump.
According to experts, her shocking statement offered the strongest proof to date that the former president might have been involved in a federal crime.
Trump should be charged with a felony, according to 86 per cent of Democrats but only 10 per cent of Republicans, according to party differences in opinions on the matter.
Republicans have split 68 per cent to 21 per cent on the question of whether or not he should be charged.
Even still, the former president finds himself in a remarkable position given that almost half of the nation thinks he should be put on trial.
This stance highlights the challenges he may encounter if he decides to seek office again in 2024.
Ella Metze, a Democrat from South Carolina, believes that Trump’s guilt has been obvious from the start, ever since he called on his supporters to march to the Capitol on the morning of January 6 and “fight like hell.”
The 86-year-old told The Associated Press, “It was aimed to encourage violence because he continued encouraging them.
“As everything was happening, I witnessed it all and couldn’t help but wonder: Why isn’t this being stopped? Why won’t he stop doing this?
Chris Schloemer, an independent from Texas, believed that Trump was to blame for inciting the crowd with his unfounded allegations of election fraud. The 61-year-old does not, however, completely blame Trump for the situation.
Schloemer believes that Republican lawmakers in Congress also contributed to what transpired on that particular day:
“I feel like people were terrified of Donald Trump, especially Republican politicians, and so they wouldn’t rein him in, and I think it only emboldened him.”
And he’s not by himself. While opinions of Trump’s role haven’t altered since December, Americans are somewhat more inclined now than they were then to believe that Republicans in Congress were largely to blame for the events of January 6.
With a small increase from 41% in December, 46% of people now say that. Additionally, 21% of respondents believe that GOP lawmakers had some culpability, while 30% disagree.
Democratic and independent voters made up the majority of those who changed their opinion on how much responsibility the Republicans in Congress bear.
The role of congressional Republicans wasn’t known to Ulysses Bryant, a Democrat from Florida, until he started paying attention to the hearings, despite his belief that Trump and the rioters should be punished with a felony.
56 per cent of Americans, or just under six out of ten, claim to have followed news about the congressional proceedings. 42 per cent of respondents report watching or listening, which is a lower but still sizable portion.
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The nine-member panel, which is made up of seven Democrats and two Republicans, has been working nonstop for the past year to look into any links between Trump and his associates and the violence and mayhem that broke out in the Capitol.
All of that investigational work will be made public to the American public throughout the investigation’s public hearing phase to establish a historical record of what happened.
Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say they followed news about the hearings (75% versus 42% respectively).
Additionally, 58 per cent of Democrats compared to 27 per cent of Republicans claim to have watched.
TV viewership for the first of the public hearings, which started in early June, was very high, but ratings for the subsequent sessions have been much lower. About half believe Trump ought to be charged with 1/6: NRC-AP poll
