More Americans believe President Joe Biden is “very responsible” for the January 6 riot at the United States Capitol than former Vice President Mike Pence, according to new research.
A poll released by Politico / Morning Consult on Tuesday found that 13% of respondents believed Biden to be very responsible, while only 8% said the same for Pence. Biden was considered “partially responsible” by 11%. Another 18 percent said Pence had some responsibility. A 52% majority believes that former President Donald Trump was very responsible, with 12% saying he was somehow responsible.
Survey responses varied significantly depending on party affiliation. While 89% of Democrats said Trump was at least somewhat responsible for violating the Capitol, 27% of Republicans agreed. On the other hand, 45% of Republicans blamed Biden to some extent, compared with just 11% of Democrats. A slightly less striking party difference was seen in Pence, with 37% of Democrats and 14% of Republicans agreeing that the former vice president was at least partially responsible.
Drew Angerer / Getty
Almost half of all Republicans, 49 percent, insisted that Trump “was not responsible” for the violent riot, while another 18 percent said he “was not very responsible”. Another 7% did not give an opinion. Trump was impeached for allegedly inciting the House insurrection on January 13, becoming the only president in U.S. history to face two charges.
The former president was acquitted at the conclusion of a Senate trial on Saturday, with a majority of 57 votes in favor of his conviction falling short of the absolute majority of 67 required votes. The 7 out of 50 Republican Party senators who voted to condemn Trump are roughly in line with the 14% of Republicans in the general population who, according to the poll, believe he was responsible for the insurrection.
The poll was conducted online among 1,984 registered voters between February 14 and 15. It has a 2 percent margin of error.
Both Biden and Pence were both decidedly unpopular figures for many Trump supporters at the time of the deadly violation of the Capitol. Many of those who took part in the riot believed false claims that Biden had “stolen” Trump’s election as part of a conspiracy involving mass electoral fraud. Pence fell out of favor for refusing to help reverse the election results while Congress met to certify the results, something he could not legally do. A group of protesters were heard shouting “hang Mike Pence” as they entered the building.
Newsweek contacted the White House for comment.