One year after the storming of the Capitol, six out of 10 Americans believe the country’s democracy is in danger of collapse, according to a poll released Wednesday.
Seventy-six percent of those surveyed in the poll by Quinnipiac University said they think political instability in the United States is a bigger danger than foreign threats.
A majority of those polled — 58 percent — said they think the nation’s democracy is in danger of collapse. Thirty-seven percent disagreed.
Fifty-three percent, meanwhile, said they expect political divisions in the country to worsen over their lifetime. The data comes in the midst of a Biden administration that rose to power on promises of political compromise and healing.
So far, the Democrat-led administration has found it difficult to reach consensus or compromise on many vital issues, from the advisability of mask and vaccine mandates to soaring inflation, supply chain gaps to social services funding, and conflict with Russia and China to immigration surges at the southern border. Election reform remains another divisive issue, as does the question of whether to crack down on use of the legislative filibuster, which has tied up much of the Biden agenda.
As for the likelihood of another attack in the United States like the one on Congress, 53 percent of those polled said it was very or somewhat likely.
A special committee of the House of Representatives is investigating the January 6, 2021 storming of the Capitol, with 61 percent of those surveyed saying they back the probe. A total of 83 percent of Democrats favor it and 60 percent of Republicans oppose it.
The poll also had bad news for President Joe Biden with just 33 percent of those surveyed saying they approved of the job he was doing.
Fifty-three percent said they disapproved while 13 percent had no opinion.
Biden had a 38 percent job approval rating in a Quinnipiac poll in November.
To help summarize, here is a bulleted breakdown of key findings from throughout the Quinnipiac poll:
- 19% of respondents think another attack is very likely.
- 34% think another attack is somewhat likely.
- 22% think another attack is not so likely.
- 21% think another attack is not likely at all.
- 61% of respondents support the congressional investigation of the Capitol riot.
- 33% oppose the inquiry.
- Half said that the Capitol riot was an attack on democracy and that it should never be forgotten.
- 44% said that the reaction to the Capitol riot was overblown and that people should move on.
- 61% said that then-President Donald Trump holds some or a lot of responsibility for the Capitol riot.
- 36% said that Trump bears not much or no responsibility for the riot.
The nationwide poll of 1,313 US adults was conducted between January 7 and 10 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points, Quinnipiac said.
The Daily Elephant contributed to this report.
