WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Since the deadly uprising on January 6 at the US Capitol, former President Donald Trump and his Republican allies have incited false and misleading reports to belittle the event in which five people were killed and many others injured. His supporters apparently listened.
Three months after a crowd of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol to try to reverse its November election loss, about half of Republicans believe the siege was largely a non-violent protest or that the handiwork of left-wing activists’ Trump is trying to make it look bad. , ”Found a new Reuters / Ipsos poll.
Six out of ten Republicans are also of the opinion that the false claim made by Trump that the presidential election in November was ‘stolen’ from him due to widespread voter fraud, and the same part of the Republicans believe that he should participate again in 2024, the poll of Shown March 30-31. .
Since the Capitol attack, Trump, many of his allies within the Republican Party and right-wing media personalities have painted a picture of the day’s events in public that is contrary to reality.
Hundreds of Trump supporters, mobilized by the former president’s false allegations of a stolen election, climbed the walls of the Capitol building and smashed windows to gain access while lawmakers were voting for President Joe Biden’s victory in the to confirm election. The rioters, many of whom are campaigning and waving flags, have also included well-known white supremacist groups such as the Proud Boys.
In a recent interview with Fox News, Trump said the rioters pose a “zero threat.” Other prominent Republicans, such as Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, have publicly questioned whether Trump supporters are behind the riot.
Last month, 12 Republicans in the House of Representatives voted against a resolution in honor of Capitol police officers defending the site during the riot, and one lawmaker said he objected to the word “insurrection” to describe the incident. .
The Reuters / Ipsos poll shows that a large number of people’s republics have adopted the myth. While 59% of all Americans say Trump bears some responsibility for the attack, only three out of every 10 Republicans agree. Eight out of ten Democrats and six out of ten independents reject the false allegations that the siege of the Capitol was “mostly peaceful” or that it was staged by left-wing protesters.
“Republicans have their own version of reality,” said John Geer, an expert on public opinion at Vanderbilt University. “It’s a big problem. Democracy requires accountability and accountability requires proof. ”
The refusal of Trump and prominent Republicans to reject the events of Jan. 6 increases the likelihood that a similar incident will occur again, said Susan Corke, director of the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center, which follows hate groups .
“It is the greatest danger to normalize this behavior,” Corke said. “I do think we’re going to see more violence.”
In a new reminder of the security threats facing the U.S. Capitol since Jan. 6, a motorist bumped into a U.S. Capitol police vehicle Friday and swung a knife, killing one officer and injuring another. and forced the Capitol complex to close. Officers shot dead the suspect.
Allie Carroll, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, said its members condemned the Capitol attack and referred to a January 13 statement from chairwoman Ronna McDaniel. “Violence has no place in our politics … Those who have taken part in the assault on the Capitol of our country and those who continue to threaten violence must be found to the full extent of the law, held accountable and prosecuted be, “McDaniel said.
A representative for Trump did not respond to requests for comment.
‘DANGEROUS SPIN ON REALITY’
The disinformation campaign, which aims to belittle Trump’s uprising and role in it, reflects a growing consensus within the Republican Party that his happiness is tied to Trump and his dedicated base, political observers say.
According to a new poll by Reuters / Ipsos, Trump remains the most popular figure in the party, with eight out of ten Republicans still liking him.
“Congress Republicans have judged that they need to maximize the Trump vote to win,” said Tim Miller, a former spokesman for Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush. “That this is the way back to the majority.”
Republicans in Congress show little sign of breaking with Trump. Immediately after the deadly siege of the Capitol, 147 Republican lawmakers voted against confirming Biden’s election victory. The Democratic-led House of Representatives has accused Trump of inciting an uprising, making him the only U.S. president to be charged twice, but most Senate Republicans acquitted him in a trial.
Last week, Republican Congressman Jim Banks of Indiana said the party should provide for the working-class voters who form Trump’s political base ahead of next year’s critical midterm elections that will determine control of Congress.
“Members who want to trade working-class voters for disregarding President Trump’s impact … are wrong,” Banks wrote in a memo to Republican House leader Kevin McCarthy, posting the content on Twitter.
Banks was one of 147 lawmakers who voted to block the certification of Biden’s victory, and he later voted against accusing Trump. Banks did not respond to requests for comment.
Some mainstream Republicans argue that after Republicans lost both the White House and control of both Congress chambers on Trump’s watch, the former president’s party must continue to attract suburban, moderate and independent voters.
In the latest Reuters / Ipsos poll, only about three out of ten independents said they had a favorable view of Trump, below the lowest level recorded since his presidency. Most Americans – about 60% – also believe that Biden won the election fair in November and said that Trump should not run again.
Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, one of Trump’s leading Republican critics in Congress, criticized the pressure to rewrite the history of the Capitol attack.
The attempt at disinformation is’ ‘such a dangerous, disgusting turn on reality’ ‘, Kinzinger wrote in a fundraising call to supporters last month,’ and what’s worse is that it is undisputed by so many in the Republican Party . ‘
The window for the Republican Party to distance itself from Trump seems to have passed, Miller said.
“After January 6, there was a chance for Republican leaders to really put their foot down and say, ‘We can not be the resurrection party,'” he said. “The opportunity is now completely over.”
The Reuters / Ipsos poll was conducted online, in English, across the United States. It collected responses from 1,005 adults between March 30-31. The poll has a credibility interval, a measure of precision, of about 4 percentage points.
Edited by Soyoung Kim and Alistair Bell