GOP resolution says Trump didn’t engage in an insurrection. What do Americans think?
In February, House Republicans unveiled a resolution declaring former President Donald Trump “did not engage in insurrection or rebellion against the United States.”
The resolution — introduced more than three years after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot — added that Trump did not “give aid or comfort” to enemies of the U.S.
The resolution, which carries no legal authority and is more of a symbolic gesture, was sponsored by Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz and co-sponsored by more than 60 House Republicans. It followed the House voting in 2021 to impeach Trump by a 232 to 197 margin for “incitement of insurrection,” before he was acquitted in the U.S. Senate.
The resolution was put forward in response to a Colorado Supreme Court ruling, which found Trump ineligible to hold office again because he engaged in an insurrection — a ruling that was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in March.
“President Trump did not commit an insurrection, and we believe Congress has a unique role in making that declaration,” Gaetz said during a Feb. 6 press conference, according to The Hill. “It’s not the job of the states and especially not the job of some bureaucrats in Colorado to make this assessment and interfere with the right of voters to cast their vote for the candidate of their choice.”
Now, a new poll reveals most Americans are against the GOP resolution.
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A slim majority of U.S. adults, 51%, oppose the resolution, according to an April 11 poll from Navigator Research, a left-leaning survey center. More than one-third of Americans, 38%, support it and 11% said they aren’t sure.
The poll, conducted between March 28 and 31, surveyed 1,000 registered voters.
Respondents were largely divided along partisan lines, with 84% of Democrats opposing it and 71% of Republicans supporting it.
A majority of independents, 55%, were against the resolution, while 23% supported it.
The poll also found that 84% of respondents were either somewhat or very concerned about political violence in the country, with large majorities of members of both parties and independents expressing worry.
Additionally, it found that more respondents said the Republican party is more prone to political violence. Slightly less than half of respondents, 47%, said Republicans were more likely to become violent, while 36% said Democrats were more likely to resort to violence.
The vast majority of respondents, 72%, also said they opposed the actions of rioters on Jan. 6, 2021. That figure includes 87% of Democrats, 69% of independents and 56% of Republicans.
The poll comes as Trump has been charged with election interference in two separate criminal cases, one in Washington, D.C., and the other in Fulton County, Georgia.
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