Republicans with favorable views of Donald Trump continue to support political violence and election denial, according to Public Religion Research Institute’s 2024 PRRI American Values Survey.
Also, most Republicans (62%) believe the lie that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump and 46% believe those convicted for their roles in the January 6 insurrection are being “held hostage” by the government.
This annual deep dive into American views on politics and religion finds Trump’s biggest lies have been deeply embraced by those who remain in his party. Those lies include the results of the 2020 election, the threat posed by immigrants, and the need for political violence.
While a majority of Americans (56%) have an unfavorable opinion of Trump, 84% of Republicans view him favorably and only 16% view him unfavorably. In contrast, 91% of Democrats have an unfavorable view of Trump and only 7% view him favorably. Also, 61% of independents have an unfavorable opinion of Trump.
Broken down by religious groups, who has a favorable view of Trump? 58% of white Christians, 72% of white evangelical Protestants, 53% of white Mainline/nonevangelical Protestants, and 51% of white Catholics.
In contrast, 46% of white Mainline/nonevangelical Protestants and 48% of white Catholics have an unfavorable opinion of Trump, as do 62% of Christians who are not white.
Among nonwhite groups, only Hispanic Protestants (51% favorable, 41% unfavorable) have an overall favorable view of Trump.
The Republican party admiration for Trump is so strong that 23% of Republicans who hold a favorable view of Trump and 19% of all Republicans say if Trump loses the 2024 election, he should declare the results invalid and do whatever it takes to assume office. Only 12% of Democrats say Kamala Harris should do the same.
“Fueled by Donald Trump’s Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him, about one in four Republican Trump supporters say they support Trump taking office by force if he loses the election, and three in 10 say they believe political violence might be necessary to save the country,” explained PRRI founder Robert P. Jones.
While most Americans reject political violence, 29% of Republicans believe that “true American patriots” may have to resort to violence to save the country, compared with 16% of independents and 8% of Democrats.
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