Growing majorities of Americans say both political parties should dial down the inflammatory rhetoric about their opponents, according to new polling from Gallup.
Sixty-nine percent of US adults say the Republican Party and its supporters have gone too far in their language, while 60% say the same of Democrats. Both figures represent sizable increases over 2011, the last time Gallup asked this question (after the shooting that wounded former Rep. Gabby Giffords).
Members of either party are much more likely to blame the other for overly inflammatory rhetoric — and the share of Democrats who think their own party has gone too far actually declined from 2011 — but the shift is nevertheless striking following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Americans surveyed were most likely to blame violence on extremist viewpoints spreading online, followed by rhetoric from prominent politicians and commentators.