A majority of U.S. likely voters believe violent crime in the United States is getting “worse,” and half doubt President Biden’s ability to handle it, a Rasmussen Reports survey released Friday found.
Respondents were asked, “Is the problem of violent crime in America getting better or worse?”
The vast majority, 65 percent, said violent crime in America is getting “worse,” followed by 22 percent who said it is “staying about the same,” 10 percent who said “better,” and 3 percent who remain unsure. A majority across party lines hold this same view, with 72 percent of Republicans, 65 percent of independents, and 59 percent of Democrats agreeing violent crime is getting “worse” in the country.
Voters were also asked to indicate their confidence level in Biden — particularly his ability to deal with the problem of violent crime. Half expressed little confidence in Biden’s ability to handle, with 35 percent saying they are “not at all confident” and 15 percent saying they are “not very” confident. Forty-six percent, overall, expressed at least some confidence — 26 percent expressing they are “somewhat” confident and 20 percent indicating they are “very” confident.”
Democrats are far more likely to have confidence in Biden’s ability to handle violent crime, 77 percent to the Republicans’ 20 percent.
Per Rasmussen:
Among voters who say violent crime is getting worse, 62% are not confident in Biden’s ability to deal with America’s violent crime problem. By contrast, among voters who say the violent crime problem is getting better, 84% are confident that Biden is able to deal with the problem.
President Biden’s strongest supporters are least likely to think the crime problem is getting worse. Among voters who Strongly Approve of Biden’s job performance as president, 51% say America’s violent crime problem is getting worse and 18% think it’s getting better. By contrast, among voters who Strongly Disapprove of Biden’s performance, 89% say the violent crime problem is getting worse and only three percent (3%) think America’s crime problem is getting better.
The survey, taken May 25-26 among 900 U.S. likely voters, has a margin of error of +/- 3 percent and follows talk of rising crime in recent months, sparking concern among prominent Democrats:
Violent crime is spiking. Homicides in cities were up by 25-40 percent in 2020, the largest single-year increase since 1960. And 2021 isn’t looking any better.
This is a crisis on its own terms. But it’s also a crisis for the broader liberal project in two downstream ways.
— Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) May 21, 2021
Fox News’s Tucker Carlson tackled the issue this week, concluding the rise in violent crime is a direct result of “stupid, malicious people” taking full control.
“So you have to ask yourself — because your life may depend on it — why is this country different from say, Sweden or Russia or Mexico? And you know the answer. It’s not COVID,” he said.
“It’s that in our country, stupid, malicious people took full control, the Democratic Party took full control of the country, and their policies resulted in a huge number of killings,” he added.
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