20 percent ‘very confident’ Secret Service can protect presidential candidates from harm: Poll

A fifth of Americans said they have a lot of confidence in the Secret Service to protect presidential candidates from harm, according to a new poll conducted after the attempted assassination of former President Trump at a campaign rally.

According to a snap poll from YouGov, released Sunday, 20 percent of U.S. adults said they are “very confident” in the Secret Service’s ability to shield White House candidates from harm. Forty-five percent said they were “somewhat confident,” while 17 percent said they were “not very confident.”

About 7 percent said they were “not at all confident,” and 11 percent said they were not sure.

The poll was conducted shortly after an attempted assassination of Trump took place Saturday at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., wounding the former president and killing one attendee. The former president said a bullet pierced his ear.

The U.S. Secret Service said the gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, of Bethel Park, Pa., was killed shortly after firing multiple shots.

The shooting sent shockwaves throughout the nation and world, prompting widespread condemnation of political violence.

YouGov also found 67 percent of U.S. adults said today’s political environment makes politically motivated violence more likely, while only 8 percent said it makes it less likely.

Ten percent said the current political climate makes politically motivated violence the same as usual and 14 percent said they were not sure, YouGov reported.

Half of U.S. adults said political violence is a “very big problem,” while 32 percent said it is “somewhat” of an issue. About 8 percent said it is not very much of a problem, while about 2 percent said it is not a problem, pollsters found. Eight percent said they were not sure.

Trump on Sunday called on Americans to unite, adding that, “God alone prevented the unthinkable from happening.”

“In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand United, and show our True Character as Americans, remaining Strong and Determined, and not allowing Evil to Win,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “I truly love our Country, and love you all, and look forward to speaking to our Great Nation this week from Wisconsin.”

YouGov surveyed 4,339 American adults in the poll Sunday. A margin of error was not immediately available, and The Hill reached out to the pollsters for more information.