An overwhelming majority of white Republican college graduates believe the GOP should not punish elected officials who publicly opposed former President Donald Trump against the riot in the Capitol.
According to the new CNN poll released Friday, a whopping 94 percent of respondents in the group said they do not believe lawmakers should get political backlash because they speak out against Trump. Among those not studying at university, it drops to 74 percent.
Overall, 76 percent of all Republican respondents said they felt the same, while 20 percent said they believe elected officials who oppose the former president should be punished.
In addition, the survey found that 67 percent of Republicans said they believe Trump had a positive effect on the party, while 63 percent believe the GOP is currently united.
The survey was conducted by SSRS for CNN from March 3-8 and contains results from 1,009 respondents. The sample error is plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.
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A total of ten Republicans in the House agreed with all Democrats to urge the former president on January 13 for an uprising a month later. A month later, seven GOP senators voted to convict Trump unsuccessfully on February 13. Since then, a number of lawmakers have decided to experience intense setbacks because he broke with Trump. Loyalists of the former president have claimed that those who voted to accuse or condemn him are not a representative of the Republican Party.
In the House, Representative Liz Cheney (R-Wy.), The number three Republican, stood up for calls to be removed from her leadership position as conference chair. Representative Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) Was condemned by his local GOP, while some members of his own family wrote down a letter calling him a disgrace.
Furthermore, five of the seven senators who voted for conviction – Richard Burr (NC), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Ben Sasse (R-NE), Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) ) – were each censored by local or state republican party officials.
However, other Republicans have since criticized the party for participating in the “cancellation culture” and for being intolerant of differing views.
Senator John Thune, who voted to acquit Trump, defended his colleagues who joined the Democrats and warned the party against excluding dissenting votes.
“There has been a strong case. People can come to different conclusions. If we are going to criticize the media and leftists about the cancellation of culture, we can not do it ourselves,” said Thune, the second Republican in the Senate. said the Associated Press.
Trump was finally acquitted after 43 senators voted to remove him from charges, leaving him on a path to possibly prosecuting again. Last month, the troubled Republican leader announced a presidential election in 2024 at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
“Actually, you know they just lost the White House,” Trump said amid false allegations that President Joe Biden won the election because of voter fraud. “I might even decide to beat them a third time,” he added.
Newsweek contacted Trump for an additional comment, but did not hear in time for publication.