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By Chloe Mayer
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A new poll has laid bare how many voters believe the conspiracy theories swirling around the attempted assignation of Donald Trump over the weekend.
One third of those who support Trump's Democratic presidential rival Joe Biden said they believe the attack may have been staged and had never been intended to kill the former president. That equates to a little over 33 percent. And even some of Trump's own supporters believe the same thing, with around 12 percent suspecting the event was planned, according to the poll conducted by Morning Consult, an American business intelligence company.
Trump was left bloodied after being shot in the ear as a bullet whizzed past his head at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Thomas Matthew Crooks killed an audience member and injured two more after he opened fire at the event, before the 20-year-old was himself shot and killed by a Secret Service sniper shortly after launching his attack. After the shooting, Trump stood defiantly to raise his fist and shout "fight!" repeatedly, before being whisked away by security agents. Some political analysts believe the attack and Trump's reaction to it may have helped the Republican's chances ahead of November's presidential elections—although a separate Morning Consult poll suggested that was not the case so far.
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In terms of the poll on conspiracy theories about the attack, the survey revealed the scale of the beliefs. Besides dividing respondents' answers by voter allegiance, as indicated by the Morning Consult results above, voters were also polled as a whole. In total, one in five voters (20 percent) said the theory that the shooting was staged was "credible," although the majority (some 62 percent) said the unsubstantiated theory was "not credible." The remaining voters were unsure or had no opinion on the matter.
The poll asked a series of questions about who or what was to blame for the shooting, besides the actions of the shooter.
Some 38 percent blamed Trump himself, saying he had created the surge towards violence in American politics. Trump has previously been criticized for his support of the January 6 protesters who stormed the Capitol after he lost the 2020 election to Biden; Trump had falsely claimed there had been widespread electoral fraud.
In contrast, 29 percent of those polled said that responsibility for the violent tone of the political discourse lay with Biden, while 31 percent blamed the Republican party, and 25 percent blamed the Democrats.
More than half of all voters questioned by the Morning Consult poll fear that more violence is likely over the next few months as the election countdown begins for the November ballot. Some 53 percent of Biden's supporters said they are "very concerned" about election-related violence, while 52 percent of Trump's supporters feel the same.
Most voters approve of how both Trump and Biden have responded to the attempted assassination. In total, 58 percent of voters approve of Biden's reaction after he appealed for calm. Around 29 percent disapprove of him, and the remaining 13 percent don't know how they feel or have no opinion.
When broken down by voter allegiances, the analysis reveals that 83 percent of Biden's supporters feel he has handled the situation well, while 36 percent of Trump supporters were also impressed with the president's response.
When it comes to Trump's handling of the situation, 57 percent of voters as a whole approve of his response. That includes 28 percent of Biden supporters and 88 percent of Trump's own supporters. Some 28 percent disapprove of his reaction and 14 percent are unsure or have no opinion.
Newsweek has reached out by email to representatives for Trump and Biden, seeking comment on the poll.
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