Disturbing New Poll Finds Republican Party’s Reputation Has Bounced Back Since Jan 6 Insurrection

The United States will forever remember January 6 of last year, when a mob of then-President Donald Trump's extremist supporters stormed the United States Capitol in a deadly insurrection, shattering windows, ransacking offices, beating police officers, and calling for the execution of any lawmaker perceived to be disloyal to Trump.

The attack was the culmination of Trump's and other Republican lawmakers' months long smear campaign falsely insisting that the 2020 presidential election was "stolen" from the GOP. That insurrection disrupted the joint congressional session to nationally certify then-President-elect Joe Biden's victory.

Hours later, when the Capitol was finally cleared and the proceedings began to continue, it seemed like a tide had shifted. Republican Senators like Kelly Loeffler of Georgia withdrew their intentions to back objections to electoral votes in swing states Trump lost. Then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky condemned Trump's role in inciting the insurrection.

In the year since, Republicans have repeatedly worked to downplay the severity of the attack, likening insurrectionists to "tourists" and condemning congressional efforts to investigate the origins and events of that day.

And a concerning new poll from Morning Consult indicates that approach may be working.

Months before the riots and before Trump lost the 2020 election in November, 32 percent of voters believed the Republican party was headed in the right direction. In the aftermath of the January 6 attack, that number plummeted to 24 percent.

Now, a year after the riots, 34 percent of voters believe the GOP is on the right path—two points higher than before the election.

That's not the only information worth taking from the poll, which sampled two thousand registered voters late last month.

Three in five voters still believe Trump and his election lies bear the most responsibility for the attack, and far fewer Independent and Republican voters believe that the insurrection had a "major impact" on their world view.

The results disturbed those who want to see the Republican party held accountable for its continued embrace of election fraud hysteria.

People tried to find entities to blame, from the GOP to Democrats to media.

It's unclear how polls like this will affect the Democratic party's strategy with less than a year before midterm elections.