Share of Americans who blame Trump for Capitol riot revealed

A steadily decreasing number of Americans believe former President Donald Trump carries full or partial blame for the riot at the US Capitol in 2021, according to a new survey. The trend is true for both Republicans and Democrats.

A Pew poll published on Tuesday surveyed more than 5,100 people about whether Trump is culpable for the unrest in the nation’s capital, with a total of 32% now saying he bears no responsibility at all, compared to 24% last year. While more than half, or 52%, said he carries “a lot” of blame in 2021, that figure has dropped to just 43%.

The trend applies to members of both major parties. Though 70% of Democrats still say Trump deserves a lot of the blame, 81% said the same last year. Just 5% previously claimed he bore no responsibility, next to 12% as of this week.

Support from GOP-leaning respondents appears to have grown over the past year, as 57% now say Trump was not at fault for the riot, more than 10 points higher than before.

While skepticism over allegations that Trump ‘incited’ the unrest is seeing a decline, major partisan divisions remain over other aspects of the issue. Though 65% of Republicans said “too much attention” has been paid to the January 6 riot – nearly a supermajority – just 11% of Democrats said the same, with 48% instead arguing the incident received “too little” focus.

Opinion on the congressional investigation into the riot was similarly divided between the parties. Asked about the outcome of the probe and the likelihood it would be “fair and reasonable,” 46% of Republicans answered “Not at all,” while a mere 2% said they are “very” confident it would be. Some 27% of Democrats said they were very confident, next to just 10% who responded “Not at all.”