Several new polls released in the week following Charlie Kirk’s assassination show Americans are deeply concerned about political violence and division in the country. A Reuters poll found 63% of Americans believe political rhetoric has done “a lot” to encourage violence, while 31% said it has contributed “a little.”
That’s a total of 94% who believe the way people talk about politics matters to some degree. The results were similar across party lines. The poll showed 63% of Republicans and 70% of Democrats agree that political rhetoric encourages violence.
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The poll was conducted online over three days ending Sunday and surveyed 1,037 U.S. adults with a confidence rate of nearly 3%.
Widespread concern over violence, division
Another poll from Morning Consult conducted between September 10-15 polled 2,239 U.S. adults. It found 86% of Americans are “concerned” about political violence in the United States.
A separate poll found 83% of Americans believe the country has become “somewhat” or “much more” politically divided over the past five years. The September 12–15, 2025, Economist/YouGov poll was conducted among 1,567 U.S. adult citizens.
The same survey asked about the motivation of Kirk’s assassin. Responses split sharply along party lines: 68% of Republicans said they believe he was motivated by left-wing beliefs, compared to just 10% of Democrats.
Consensus on division, difference on motives
Together, the early polling shows Americans widely agree that political violence is a serious concern and that rhetoric is fueling the threat. There is also broad agreement that the nation is more polarized today than in recent years — even as there are partisan differences on interpreting the shooter’s motives.
