Few Americans trust the Secret Service to protect presidential candidates after Trump shooting: Poll

Few Americans trust the United States Secret Service to keep presidential candidates safe before the November election, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll released Friday.

Only about three out of ten Americans say they are “extremely” or “very confident” that “the Secret Service can keep presidential candidates safe from violence before the election,” according to the AP-NORC poll. U.S. Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle resigned from her position on July 23 following an evasive testimony before Congress about the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Republicans and Independents were more concerned with the U.S. Secret Service’s abilities than Democrats, with only 22% of Republicans and 21% of Independents being “extremely” or “very confident” the agency can protect candidates, according to the poll. Forty-three percent of Democrats held the same opinion.

Only 36% of Americans are “extremely/very confident” that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security “will conduct a full and fair investigation” into the attempt on Trump’s life, according to the poll. Democrats were more confident than Republicans, polling at 52% and 21%, respectively.

Most Americans blame the “political division in the U.S.” for the assassination attempt, with 78% of respondents saying it contributed a “great deal or a moderate amount”, according to the poll. The Secret Service was the second-most blamed, with 72% of respondents agreeing they were responsible.

Democrats were more likely to blame “the availability of guns,” with 81% responding as such, according to the poll. Only 34% of Republicans and 52% of Independents blamed guns for the shooting.

Cheatle was replaced by Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe as questions continued to circulate as to the security failures of the Secret Service that day. Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, opened fire with an AR-15 pattern rifle on Trump during his rally, killing Corey Comperatore, 50, and injuring two others.

The poll was conducted using the Amerispeak Panel from NORC at the University of Chicago. The poll sampled 1,143 adults from July 25 to July 29with a margin for error of 4.1%.

The Secret Service did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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