A new Gallup poll reveals that a majority of Americans believe both Democrats and Republicans are using inflammatory language, contributing to a worsening political climate. The survey, conducted after a prominent political assassination, highlights a significant increase in concern over political rhetoric and potential violence.
by CORY SMITH | The National News DeskFILE - A U.S. Capitol Police officer patrols on the East Front of the U.S. Capitol, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, in Washington. But they also point the finger at the other side for the heated tone of political discourse , while few say their own side has pushed the envelope too far.
The Gallup poll, conducted weeks after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, found that 60% of Americans think Democrats and their supporters have gone too far in using inflammatory language to criticize their political opponents.Both are big increases from the last time Gallup asked the question in 2011. The share saying Republicans have gone too far is up 16 percentage points. The share saying Democrats have gone too far is up nine percentage points. “Inflammatory political rhetoric has gotten worse in the last 15 years, I would say especially in the last 10,” said, the director of the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University. “And certainly, political violence and threats of political violence have significantly increased over the past decade." Gallup last asked the question following the shooting that injured former Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.“There's something like 500,000 elected officials in this country, ranging from local offices on up to the president. And most of those elected officials go about their lives, occasionally getting yelled at, but nobody ever threatening them. But there has been an increase both in threats of political violence and actual political violence,” Loge said.Most Americans agree that there’s a problem with inflammatory political rhetoric.Gallup found that 94% of Democrats think Republicans have gone too far with their inflammatory language.But just 36% of Republicans said their side has gone too far.Ninety-three percent of Republicans think Democrats have gone too far with their inflammatory language.But just 28% of Democrats view their own side as having gone too far. Most independents say both sides have gone too far, 74% saying that of Republicans and 62% saying it of Democrats.“I don't know anybody who works in politics that says, ‘I would love to shout more violent threats, because it's the right thing to do,’” Loge said. “Everybody I know who works in politics says, ‘I'd rather not behave this way, but I have to, because the other side is,’ or, ‘I have to, because that's the only way we can get elected, and the stakes are too high to not engage in this.’”“As long as voters continue to vote for candidates who threaten political violence, who use demeaning political language, or use violent rhetoric, candidates will continue to use violent rhetoric, demeaning language, and be over the top,” Loge said. “Voters have to be willing to vote against even their own political party if they think that the rhetoric is out of control. Political candidates, like the rest of us, behave their incentives.” The partisan echo chamber on social media, on cable news and elsewhere reinforces the cycle of heated language.The rest are “likely” going for one side or the other or are considered solidly blue or red. “The way you get elected to most congressional or legislative offices in this country is to win the primary, because the general election’s a foregone conclusion,” Loge said. “The people who tend to vote in primaries tend to be at the extremes of the party, the most conservative and the most liberal. So, as a candidate, you have an incentive to make them really agitated, to get the people who are most willing to be engaged, the most engaged. The way you do that is by scaring them or riling them up. And you rile them up using over-the-top, and ridiculous and violent language.” That approach might appeal to a small, vocal and influential segment of highly motivated and partisan voters.“If what most of the people hear about politics is that it's violent and awful and everybody's evil, nobody's going to want to participate in politics,” Loge said.The biggest share, 71%, assigned a great deal of blame for political violence on the spread of extremist viewpoints on the internet.Just over half blamed the failure of the mental health system to identify individuals who are a danger to others. Inflammatory rhetoric might work in the short-term for a particular candidate, but it’s bad for democracy, Loge said.“We need politicians, pundits and others to say stop calling your opponents evil, because you don't negotiate with evil. You eliminate evil,” Loge said. “Call your opponents wrong. Call them misguided. Call them something that allows the debate to continue.”Amid reports of a number of monkeys caged outside, a home on Schimpfs Ln. in Tillman's Corner is marked off with crime scene tape Wednesday as U.S. Fish and WiDowntown Gayfer's building once again eyed for development If your grandparents or great grandparents grew up in or around Mobile, there's a very good chance they spent some time in this huge, cavernous building in theThe child was covered in blood and was in unchanged diapers, apparently trying to get the attention of his dead parents.
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