Should Trump Be On Primary Ballots? Majority Of Americans Agree As GOP Voters Now Feel Less Strongly About Jan. 6 Riots, New Poll Finds

On Saturday, the third anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol Hill riots, newly released poll results found that Americans are increasingly moving toward putting the unsavory incident in rearview mirror.

What Happened: A majority Americans are in favor of states retaining Donald Trump’s name on the ballots, a new CBS News/YouGov poll has found. Fifty-four percent of the respondents supported retaining Trump’s name on the ballots compared to 46% who wanted his name off the ballots.

The survey was conducted among 2,157 U.S. adults interviewed between Jan. 3 and 5.

About 90% of Republicans and 56% of independents want the former president on the ballots, while only 19% of Democrats feel the same. Support for keeping Trump on the ballots was more prominent among males and those over 30 years old.

Still, the aftermath of the 2020 election has left people less hopeful of peaceful presidential transitions in the future. According to the survey, the percentage of people who feel the losing side will accept the outcome of any given presidential election peacefully in the future is only slightly higher than those who think otherwise, with the ratio at 51% to 49%.

The percentage of people who believe President Joe Biden was the legitimate winner in the 2020 election was 61%, while the remaining said they did not consider him as the legitimate winner. The respondents answered mostly along party lines, with 93% of the Democrats seeing Biden as the legitimate winner, while just 29% of Republicans feeling the same. Sixty-two percent of independents believe Biden won the 2020 election.

Most respondents also said they think democracy and the rule of law are being threatened today. About 70% of the respondents feel somewhat threatened or very threatened compared to 30% who feel secure or somewhat secure.

Twenty-two percent of the respondents said they approve the actions taken by the insurrectionists who forced their way into the U.S. Capitol, while 78% said they disapprove. CBS News noted that the strength of disapproval among Republicans has waned since the riots. As opposed to half of the GOP voters who strongly disapproved then, only 32% strongly disapprove currently.

See Also: Marjorie Taylor Greene Brands NY AG’s Claims Against Trump In Civil Case As ‘Lies’: ‘It’s Destroying Democracy … Letitia James Should Be Disbarred’

Why It’s Important: The discussion regarding the removal of Trump from the ballots stems from the argument that the former president abetted the insurrection. This is in violation of the Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, which states that no person can hold public office if they have engaged in insurrection.

Colorado and Maine were among the states that decided to remove Trump from the ballots, although California and Michigan opted to retain him on the ballots following legal challenges and pressure from Democrats.

The U.S. Supreme Court said Friday it will decide whether Trump has to be kept off the ballots on the grounds that he engaged in election subversion. The high court has taken up the case from the Colorado Supreme Court and will aim to issue a ruling quickly, given that state primaries will be held beginning on Jan. 23.

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