A new Rasmussen poll reveals that an overwhelming majority of voters (82%) feel that Americans have become less tolerant of their fellow citizens’ political opinions ever since the 2016 presidential election.
Considering how biased news coverage was on the big networks following the election and even now, that finding comes as no surprise.
Not to mention divisive rhetoric being used by politicians like Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) who called on citizens to confront members of the Trump administration.
There have been more instances now than you can count on your fingers of people being kicked out of establishments, confronted, or even attacked for simply wearing a MAGA hat or shirt.
The measure seems to be increasing as time goes on, up from 77 percent in February 2017 and 70 percent in 2016.
Just six percent say Americans are “more tolerant” now than prior to the election and 10 percent say “the level of tolerance is about the same.”
The sentiment seems to be consistent along party lines.
When asked whether respondents believe the election has had a negative impact on their personal relationships with friends or family, “roughly a third of Republicans (30%), Democrats (37%) and voters not affiliated with either political party (36%)” say they believe so, Rasmussen reports.
In general, 34 percent of voters say the election negatively affected a personal relationship with a friend or family member but 60 percent say it did not.
The survey of 1,000 likely U.S. voters was conducted July 25-26 and has a margin sampling error of three percentage points.