Overview
- Near-identical shares of Republicans (86%) and Democrats (85%) say politically motivated violence is increasing, according to Pew.
- Views of the primary threat diverge sharply, with 77% of Republicans calling left-wing extremism a major problem and 76% of Democrats saying the same of right-wing extremism.
- In open-ended responses, 28% of Democrats cited rhetoric or behavior from Trump, Republicans or the MAGA movement, while 16% of Republicans pointed to Democrats or liberals.
- Respondents also cited polarization (11%), reluctance to engage across differences (about 10%), a perceived normalization of violence (9%), and the role of social media (6%) and traditional media (6%).
- The survey polled 3,445 U.S. adults Sept. 22–28 and followed high-profile attacks and threats, including the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk.