Only a small fringe of Americans say Wednesday's Capitol Hill rioters were "patriots," while a 79 percent majority—including President Donald Trump's supporters— described them as either "criminals" or "fools," according to a new survey.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll of 1,005 Americans released Friday found a 57 percent majority want to see Trump immediately removed from office for his role in inciting the violent Washington D.C. protest. It also saw that 70 percent of Americans disapprove of Trump's actions prior to the Wednesday riots and an overwhelming majority said the protesters' actions were disgraceful.
Just 9 percent of Americans in the survey described the Capitol Hill rioters as "concerned citizens," and only 5 percent said those who stormed the Capitol were "patriots." About 14 percent of those surveyed said Congress should impeach and remove Trump from the White House, while 13 percent said he should just resign.
The poll revealed that only a small minority of Americans overall, 12 percent, said they support the people who took part in the violent riots. But a 79 percent majority which includes both Republicans and Trump supporters said the participants were either "fools" or simply "criminals."
Trump had for weeks encouraged his increasingly fanatical supporters to reject the results of the election that showed President-elect Joe Biden easily defeated him with 306 Electoral College votes to his 232. In late December, Trump tweeted his call for "wild" protests in the nation's capital leading up to Wednesday's chaos, culminating with his speech to his supporters at a rally.
"We are going to have to fight much harder. And [Vice President] Mike Pence is going to have to come through for us, and if he doesn't, that will be a sad day for our country. Because you're sworn to uphold our Constitution. We are going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women," Trump told the crowd. "And we are probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them — because you will never take back our country with weakness."
About one-third of Americans in the Reuters/Ipsos poll this week said Trump should be removed from office using provisions from the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which would allow Pence and Cabinet members to oust the president based on the belief he is unable to conduct his official duties.
The deadly riot inside the Capitol on Wednesday left five dead—among them a Capitol police officer—and was swiftly condemned by both Republicans and Democrats.
Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment.
About the writer
Benjamin Fearnow is a reporter based out of Newsweek's New York City offices. He was previously at CBS and Mediaite ... Read more