During the 2024 campaign, then-candidate Donald Trump and his campaign team vowed that if Americans voted to return Trump to the White House, then Trump would pursue investigations and possible prosecutions against members of the Jan 6th committee, individuals within the Department of Justice, and even President Joe Biden.
Would voters support such investigations? According to a Monmouth University poll, Americans have mixed opinions on this issue.
Among the 1,000 voters polled by Monmouth, 52% said they weren’t in favor of Trump going after his political opponents. That number marked a notable drop. In June of 2024, that number was as high as 65%.
Monmouth’s poll revealed differing perspectives among political parties regarding Donald Trump’s promise of retribution against his opponents. Among Democrats, 77% expressed concern about Trump following through on these threats. In contrast, 55% of independents felt the same way, while only 23% of Republicans said they were worried about it.
The poll also highlighted that Americans are divided on whether Trump is serious about his campaign promises to target political adversaries or if these statements are merely exaggerated. A slight minority of voters polled, 48%, said that they believe Trump is serious, while 47% said it was more of an exaggeration, and three percent were unsure. Among the political parties, 77% of Democrats take Trump’s comments seriously, but 71% of GOP voters say that he is just exaggerating.
“As recently as this week, Trump said those who investigated the Jan. 6 riot should go to jail,” Monmouth University Polling Institute Director Patrick Murray said. “Still, many Americans see this more as bombast than intent. If he is serious, however, he can probably bank on his fellow Republicans to stand behind him, or at least turn a blind eye,”
On unity, most Americans say the still don’t see it. Back In 2020, 70% said the country grew more divided under Trump. Today, 67% of respondents said the country is more divided since Biden took office in 2021.
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