A majority of self-identified leftists say it would be at least somewhat justified to murder President Donald Trump, according to a new survey.
The Network Contagion Research Institute and Rutgers University’s Social Perception Lab on Monday released results of a survey to assess support for political violence in the U.S.
The results found that political violence targeting Trump and Elon Musk “is becoming increasingly normalized.”
In fact, 55% of those self-identified as left of center said murdering Trump would be at least somewhere justified. A share of 48% leftists said the same about murdering Musk, head of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Overall, 38% said it was at least somewhat justified to murder Trump and 31% said the same about Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX.
NCRI/Rutgers found that “a broader ‘assassination culture’ appears to be emerging within segments of the U.S. public on the extreme left.”
“The findings signal a threat to political stability and public safety,” NCRI/Rutgers found.
Trump survived two assassination attempts during the 2024 presidential election campaign. He was shot in the ear during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July, and an alleged assassin was arrested in September after staking out Trump near the president’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The NCRI/Rutgers survey also found that 39.8% of respondents said it is at least somewhat acceptable to destroy a Tesla dealership in protest.
Late last month, the FBI issued a warning of “arson, gunfire, and vandalism” so Americans maintain “vigilance and awareness” of domestic terror attacks “linked to political grievances” on Tesla vehicles, dealerships, and charging stations in nine-plus states.
A clear uptick in violence has been aimed at Tesla since Trump took office and empowered Musk to oversee DOGE and its efforts to reduce government spending.
“This report points to disturbingly high levels of support for political violence, particularly targeting President Donald Trump and Elon Musk,” the NCRI/Rutgers survey’s conclusion said. “Across survey responses, nearly one-third of respondents — and a significantly higher share of left-leaning respondents — expressed some degree of justification for acts of lethal violence.
“Unless political and cultural leadership explicitly confronts and condemns this trend, NCRI assesses a growing probability of real-world escalation. Given the current economic volatility and institutional distrust, the online normalization of political violence may increasingly translate into offline action.”
NCRI/Rutgers surveyed 1,264 U.S. residents “balanced to reflect Census data on race/ethnicity, gender, age, and education.”
Reuters contributed to this story.
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