By Matthew Holloway |
A national survey of Democratic voters found that 59% would react positively to a hypothetical military takeover removing President Donald Trump from power, while 31% would react positively to news of his assassination, according to published results from the Center for Strategic Politics.
The survey, commissioned by Liberal Currents, examined Democratic voters’ presidential preferences, policy positions, and reactions to five hypothetical scenarios involving Trump leaving office. The publication released its analysis Sept. 21.
The military takeover scenario described military leaders removing Trump and assuming control of the United States under a stated rationale of safeguarding the Constitution. Respondents were asked how they would feel upon seeing such a news headline.
The accompanying graphic showed 43% responding very positively and 16% somewhat positively. Another 13% were neutral, while 10% responded somewhat negatively and 18% very negatively.
For the assassination scenario, the published crosstabs reported 23% very positive and 8% somewhat positive responses. Negative reactions totaled 43%, with 25% neutral. The hypothetical headline described Trump being assassinated while speaking at a rally.
The center’s social media caption cited 29%, while its published crosstabs reported 31%.
Positive reactions also totaled 56% for Trump dying in his sleep, 86% for impeachment and removal, and 84% for the scenario invoking the 25th Amendment.
The questions measured respondents’ anticipated emotional reactions to hypothetical headlines. They did not directly ask whether respondents would participate in or authorize violence.
The same survey also found majority support for a future Democratic administration pursuing criminal prosecutions of Trump administration officials, with one question extending to officials who served under former President Joe Biden.
Seventy-seven percent favored pursuing prosecutions of Trump administration members over actions taken by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. A separate question naming Stephen Miller drew support from 73%.
On military actions, 72% favored prosecuting administration members over lethal strikes on boats in South America, while 66% favored prosecutions over actions taken during the war in Iran.
Another 69% favored prosecuting Pete Hegseth in response to a question that described him as directing the military “to violate national and international law.” That characterization appeared in the question itself.
The question encompassing both administrations drew 57% support for pursuing prosecutions over actions related to what the questionnaire called “Israel’s genocide in Gaza.” Twenty-two percent opposed pursuing those prosecutions, and 22% were unsure.
Although the graphic’s headline described Democrats as wanting officials jailed, the questions asked whether the next Democratic administration should pursue criminal prosecution. They did not ask respondents to determine guilt or select a punishment.
In his analysis accompanying the poll, Liberal Currents writer Chance Phillips noted that assassination was the only one of the five scenarios in which negative reactions exceeded positive reactions.
“Thankfully, on net Democrats are not pro political violence,” Phillips wrote, referring to the assassination responses.
That conclusion did not account for the majority’s positive response to a military seizure of government. The scenario explicitly described military leaders removing Trump from power and assuming control of the United States, with 59% responding positively and 28% negatively.
The Center for Strategic Politics describes itself as part of the progressive community and says its work is funded through grassroots contributions.
The English-language survey included 683 Democratic voters nationwide, contacted Sept. 3 and Sept. 8–10 through SMS-to-web and online panels. Researchers weighted responses by age, ethnicity, and gender and reported a margin of error of plus or minus 3.75 percentage points.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
