Poll: Majority of Democrats Believe There Are ‘Tens of Millions of Dangerous MAGA Republicans’

Trump biden speech
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Most Democrats believe that there are “tens of millions” of “dangerous MAGA Republicans,” a Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll released in September found.

The survey followed President Biden’s angry speech in which he demonized millions of Americans, deeming “MAGA Republicans” a great threat to the very “foundations of our republic.”  The poll asked voters, “Do you think there are tens of millions of dangerous MAGA Republicans backing violence and trying to overthrow the constitution or is that a gross exaggeration and distortion?”

While a majority across the board, 54 percent, said that characterization is a “gross exaggeration,” 46 percent believe that there are, in fact, “tens of millions of dangerous MAGA Republicans.” 

But what is more, nearly three-quarters of Democrats, 73 percent, tend to believe Biden’s divisive rhetoric, concluding that there are literally “tens of millions of dangerous MAGA Republicans” who are overtly “backing violence and trying to overthrow the constitution.” Forty-two percent of independents agree with the majority of Democrats, as do 20 percent of Republicans. 

The survey was taken September 7-8, 2022, among 1,885 registered voters and follows Biden’s angry September 1 speech, in which he stated that “Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic.”

PHOENIX, ARIZONA - JULY 24: Former U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to speak at the Rally To Protect Our Elections conference on July 24, 2021 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Phoenix-based political organization Turning Point Action hosted former President Donald Trump alongside GOP Arizona candidates who have begun candidacy for government elected roles. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Former U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to speak at the Rally To Protect Our Elections conference on July 24, 2021, in Phoenix, Arizona. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

“And here, in my view, is what is true: MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution.  They do not believe in the rule of law.  They do not recognize the will of the people,” Biden said, quoting Federal Circuit Court Judge Michael Luttig, who, according to Biden, called Trump “and the extreme MAGA Republicans, quote, a ‘clear and present danger’ to our democracy.”

“Democrats, independents, mainstream Republicans: We must be stronger, more determined, and more committed to saving American democracy than MAGA Republicans are to — to destroying American democracy,” Biden said, striking a very different tone from the pitch for “unity” he touted during his presidential campaign. 

The survey also found that most Americans overall, 59 percent, believe Biden is raising these issues about MAGA Republicans to “avoid talking about inflation, immigration, crime, and other issues.” However, the vast majority of Democrats, 70 percent, believe he is “fairly raising MAGA Republican issues.”

Notably, a Convention of States Action/Trafalgar Group survey released last week found 58.7 percent of voters expressed the belief that Biden has, in fact, divided the country. 

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