Staff Reports
Over half of self-identified leftists in a recent poll appear to be ready to embrace political violence in a way that would make earlier generations of Democrats proud. This situation has sparked a fearsome resemblance to the events that led to the Civil War over 150 years ago when then-Democrats launched the bloodiest conflict in U.S. history merely because a Republican president dared to win an election. It seems that for some Democrats, their affection for political violence has not died along with the relics of their past.
The poll, conducted by the Network Contagion Research Institute alongside a Rutgers University lab, shows an alarming 55 percent of respondents positioned left of center believing murder could be justified in the case of President Donald Trump. The specter of political assassination looms ominously as nearly half of those surveyed also deemed violence acceptable against tech mogul Elon Musk. This hints at a troubling notion: for some, violence is merely a means to an end when it comes to political disagreements.
What exactly is it that brings these leftists to this brutal precipice? One possible explanation could be the rising tide of politically motivated violence that’s punctuated the last several years, from riots masquerading as protests in 2020 to failed assassination attempts against Trump himself. The Democrat Party has, after all, cultivated an ongoing narrative of such extreme measures, some might say drawing from their historical playbook of violence and unrest that can be traced back centuries.
Civil War 2.0? Over 50% of Lefties Are Fine With Murdering Trump https://t.co/D8Ej1xl2KM
— Catherine Salgado (@CatSalgado32) April 10, 2025
It’s astonishing how history repeats itself, particularly when the Democrat Party seems to remain in a perpetual state of civil strife. The assassination of Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth over civil rights for Black Americans is one example of how the Democrats have leaned toward violent extremism when they don’t get their way. Today’s Democrats, who label Trump a dictator and a Nazi while frequently deploying accusations of violence against him, are simply casting shadows of their predecessors. In the echo of their formative years, it seems little has changed in their approach to ideology that challenges their worldview.
In confronting the uncomfortable truth of this poll, the nation must reckon with whether it’s time to brace for Civil War 2.0. While no one can lay down a definitive timeline, it is clear that, embarrassingly, many members of the left feel justified in resorting to extreme measures against their political opponents. If the trends of the last couple of decades are any indication, they might just double down on violence as their preferred approach, endangering not just their counterparts on the right but the very fabric of American democracy itself.
