Political scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst were in the midst of preparing a national poll on the 2024 Republican campaign agenda, pegged to this week's GOP convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
But after Saturday's assassination attempt on Donald Trump, the thrust of the survey will change said Tatishe Nteta, a political science professor at UMass Amherst and director of the UMass Poll.
Over the next few days he and his colleagues will be discussing how to incorporate Saturday's shooting into the survey.
Nteta said the assassination attempt on Trump — and the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 — indicate an increase in the use of violence as a means to communicate political viewpoints.
"Is this part and parcel now of American politics, given the high levels of polarization and the high levels of emotion and affect that's associated with politics? Is this now going to become more frequent?" said Nteta.
Earlier this year a UMass Poll found 73% of Americans are concerned about violence associated with the 2024 election.
Nteta said in the aftermath of the assassination attempt, the focus of the Biden campaign is likely to change. He expects to see very little attacking of Trump's potential agenda or attacking Trump's time in the White House.
That's problematic for the Democrats said Nteta.
"Everyday is important going forward in this presidential campaign to make the case to the American people — and not to see [their] attention [on] your opponent," Neta said.
All eyes are going to be on the Republican National Convention, more than otherwise, because of the shooting, said Nteta.
"So this sounds somewhat contradictory, but it's a win-win for the Trump campaign and for Donald Trump and the Republican Party, given the overwhelming sort of positive news that that came out of the assassination attempt — and his surviving that assassination attempt."
