Trump has raised the temperature, but do both sides need to cool it?
WASHINGTON — Robert A. Pape, a political scientist who studies political violence, has little doubt that former President Donald Trump has made more incendiary comments than Vice President Kamala Harris.
The problem, however, is what his research tells him: Both sides of the political spectrum have radical elements that see violence as justified if it means stopping Trump from gaining power (10% of adults) or making sure Trump returns to the White House (7%).
Together, they account for millions of people, he estimates. And more of them on both sides have become whipped by rhetoric to act in recent months, whether it's the two attempts on , the attack on former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul, that sent him to the hospital or any number of events that have lasted only a day in the headlines.
