A new poll released just hours before the U.S. House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack hearing finds that nearly six in ten registered voters say then-President Donald Trump “misled” them about the results of the 2020 election, and that same number, 59%, say the former president is to blame for the January 6 attack.
Two out of three (67%) also say Trump attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Almost as many, (65%) say Trump claimed that the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent without evidence.
Despite those findings, the Morning Consult/Politico poll reveals that just half of Americans (50%) say Trump should be prosecuted. 35% say what he did was not a crime. Six percent say it was a crime he should not be prosecuted for.
The poll also found that among Republicans, 52% would vote for Donald Trump if the GOP primary were held today. Coming in a distant second is former Vice President Mike Pence, at just eight percent.
Respondents were asked who is to blame for the January 6 attack (which does not call it an insurrection). More than one choice was allowed:
The people who broke into the U.S. Capitol: 81%
Social media companies: 63%
Donald Trump: 59%
News media: 57%
Republicans in Congress: 52%
Local law enforcement: 40%
State legislators: 38%
State elections officials: 37%
Democrats in Congress: 36%
Defense Department: 33%
Mike Pence: 29%
President Joe Biden: 29%
Despite more than half of Republican voters saying they would vote for Trump, just 35 percent say he should run. That may explain Trump’s deeply underwater favorability ratings: Just 42% favorable, 56% unfavorable.
The Morning Consult/Politico poll was taken July 8-10 of 2005 registered voters.
The U.S. House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack will hold its next hearing Tuesday afternoon starting at 1:00 PM ET.