Assassination Culture: Political Violence Tolerated By The Left
Bottom Line: A study by the Network Contagion Research Institute and Rutgers University’s Social Perception Lab has painted an instructive but deeply disturbing picture of what’s behind the multiple assassination attempts of President Trump, the assassination of United Healthcare’s CEO, and mostly recently Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.
The study, conducted earlier this year, highlighted a growing acceptance of lethal violence, particularly among younger, ideologically left individuals active on social media. The data indicates significant support for the assassination of prominent figures like President Trump and Elon Musk.
Key Findings
The study surveyed individuals identifying as Far Left, Liberal, or Slightly Liberal, focusing on their views on the justification of assassinating Trump and Musk. The results, presented show the distribution of responses across three levels of justification: “Completely Justified,” “Somewhat Justified,” and “Not at All Justified.” Among those left-of-center:
- 13% view a potential Trump assassination as “Completely Justified,” compared to 9% for Musk.
- 28% see a potential Trump assassination as “Somewhat Justified,” while 20% feel the same about Musk.
- 55% believe a potential Trump assassination could be at least somewhat justified and 48% say the same for Musk.
The data points to a significant, and evidentially growing, “assassination culture” within segments of the political left, driven by polarized narratives on social media and amplified by broader cultural and educational divides. Notably, those who use the social media site BlueSky, are those most likely to be supportive of political violence. Related, content and messaging on BlueSky became so disturbing that the Left-Wing echo chamber posted this warning to users: Glorifying violence or harm violates Bluesky's Community Guidelines. We review reports and take action on content that celebrates harm against anyone. Violence has no place in healthy public discourse, and we're committed to fostering healthy, open conversations.
The cultural shift away from our country’s founding Judeo-Christian values, would appear to be the common denominator. A return to those values is what’s needed to reverse this.