The violent events of the weeks leading up to the midterm election have colored the views of American voters.
A POLITICO/Morning Consult poll conducted following a week of pipe bombs addressed to prominent Democrats and the murder of 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue—among other events—found that a majority of those polled consider political violence to be “widespread.”
Approximately 58% of voters, including 63% of Democrats and 55% of both Republicans and independents found there to be political violence in the U.S. Just over one-third (36%) of those polled blamed Trump on the violence, while just shy of one-third (31%) found Democrats in Congress to be responsible. Roughly 24% had no opinion, and 9% blamed Republicans in Congress.
Meanwhile, a majority of voters also believe Trump is responsible for dividing the country. More than half (56%) think he’s done more to divide the country, while 30% said he’s served to unite the country. But between Trump and the media, most believe the media is the real divider.
Approximately 64% said the media has divided the country, while 17% say it has united it. These views appear to be largely along party lines, however. Democrats and independents overwhelmingly believe Trump is a divider—88% and 54% respectively, while 55% of Republicans believe Trump has done more to unite. A plurality of Democrats (46%) and a majority of Republicans (80%) and independents (67%) believe the media has done more to divide the country.