According to a new poll released by Rasmussen, the majority of Americans believe that people opposed to President Trump’s policies will resort to violence.
Of those people surveyed, 59 percent say that they’re worried Trump critics will become violent; a third of everyone polled said that they’re “very concerned” that things will come to that point.
Conversely, 16 percent said they aren’t worried about it at all.
These percentages of people who think violence will be the direct result of policy disagreement are higher than they were under the Obama administration. During President Obama’s second year, 53 percent of people believed his opponents would turn toward violence while 28 percent stated that they were “very concerned” about the potential for violence.
This survey comes on the heels of an increasingly dangerous rhetoric being used by party leaders. Last weekend, Congresswoman Maxine Waters encouraged her supporters to harass Trump administration officials. “You push back on them. Tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere!” she screamed to her audience at a rally. (RELATED: MAXINE WATERS: GOD IS ON THE SIDE OF PEOPLE DRIVING TRUMP OFFICIALS FROM RESTAURANTS)
Over the last week or so, White House senior advisor Stephen Miller and Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen have dealt with protesters yelling outside their homes. While those protests did not turn violent, it’s no wonder people seem to agree that things could easily escalate.