Alarming study on political violence rise: 26 million Americans justify force

After the attack on Donald Trump, the Canadian broadcaster CBC highlighted the alarmingly high level of tolerance for political violence among United States citizens.

Research conducted by Robert Pape, a political scientist from the University of Chicago, showed that in June this year, about 10 percent of adult Americans believed that using force to prevent Trump from returning to power would be justified.

This means that such a belief is shared by as many as 26 million people, of whom more than 8.5 million own a gun.

On the other hand, 7 percent of adult Americans, or 18 million people, of whom 9 million own a gun, support the use of violence to return Trump to the presidency, according to research by the same political scientist.

In its commentary on the recent attack, CBC stated, "American history is repeating itself in a most macabre way."

"If everything unfolds as expected, Donald Trump will deliver a triumphant speech in Milwaukee next Thursday night to accept the Republican presidential nomination," commented Aleksander Panetta, referring to Saturday's events. He added that Trump's supporters will celebrate the fact that he survived the assassination attempt on the campaign trail.

Panetta reminded that in 1912, near the site of the convention in Milwaukee where Trump will accept the nomination, there was a failed assassination attempt on President Theodore Roosevelt.

"I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot," said Roosevelt at the time, who was running for the presidency again, showing blood-stained pages from his speech.

CBC commentator noted that it is important to closely watch whether Trump will act like Roosevelt, who tried to calm his voters right after the assassination attempt and shouted at the attacker: "Kill him!" Similarly, the leader of the Parti Québécois, Pauline Marois, acted after the assassination attempt in 2012.

Stephen Marche, author of the book "The Next Civil War," wrote in the newspaper "The Globe and Mail" that political violence in the USA has been building for almost two decades. He emphasized that civil wars are the result of unresolved pathologies, and America is overloaded with its pathologies: morbid extremes in political support, a breakdown of faith in state institutions, environmental degradation, and increasing inequality.

The French-language public broadcaster Radio-Canada on Sunday highlighted the scale of disseminated misinformation and conspiracy theories: from the attack being staged to the accusation of the attack on Italian journalist Marco Violi, whose photo appeared on the X communicator with information that he was an "Antifa activist."

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and political party leaders condemned the assassination attempt on the former US president. "It cannot be overstated – political violence is never acceptable. My thoughts are with former President Trump, those at the event, and all Americans," the prime minister wrote on X, calling the assassination attempt a despicable act.