Democrats vs Republicans: Who Is Actually More Violent? - Robert Pape #1154
September 24, 2026
AI Summary
5 min readThe New Era of Political Violence in America
Political scientist Robert Pape has spent decades studying terrorism around the world—compiling over 18,000 individual cases of suicide attacks after 9/11. But his most alarming finding comes from his own backyard. For the past five years, Pape has directed the University of Chicago Project on Security and Threats, conducting 21 national surveys tracking American support for political violence. His latest data, revealed for the first time on this episode, shows that 25% of American adults—roughly 65 million people—now support the use of force to prevent President Trump from being president. When pressed in follow-up surveys, 55% of those respondents specify they mean assassination by rifle. On the other side, 16% of Americans support President Trump using the military to suppress Democratic protesters. Combined, roughly 100 million Americans endorse some form of political violence as the country heads into the midterms.
Violent Populism vs. Ordinary Populism
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:34) **The Number One Threat to America** - Robert Pape introduces his central thesis: the greatest threat is not a foreign power or fringe militia, but tens of millions of mainstream Americans who support political violence.
- 2 (03:49) **The Scale of Recent Political Violence** - Pape catalogs a series of recent assassination attempts and violent protests to demonstrate the unprecedented scope of the problem.
- 3 (05:54) **Defining Violent Populism vs. Ordinary Populism** - Pape clarifies the key distinction between a political movement and one that embraces violence.
- 4 (07:20) **Exclusive New Data: 65 Million Americans Support Anti-Trump Violence** - Pape reveals fresh, unreleased survey data showing a dramatic surge in support for political violence.
- 5 (12:23) **The Symmetry of Support: Pro-Trump Violence** - Pape presents the mirror-image data on support for violence from the right.
- 6 (15:17) **Right vs. Left: Who Is More Violent?** - Pape challenges the common narrative that political violence is primarily a right-wing phenomenon.
- 7 (18:57) **The Root Cause: Social Changes, Not Just Trump** - Pape argues Trump is a symptom, not the primary cause, of the current unrest.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Guests on this episode
Show Notes
Robert Pape is a political scientist, professor at the University of Chicago, and author.
Why is political violence on the rise in America? With the midterm elections approaching, could this be one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime? What’s driving the hostility, what’s actually at stake, and how could the outcome shape America for years to come?
Expect to learn why we’ve entered into a new era of violent populism, why January 6, 2027, will be a major breaking point for both political parties, why the upcoming midterms might be the most dangerous election of our lifetimes, how normal people become radicalised on both sides of the spectrum, why Trump is at the center of political violence for both the left and right, and much more…
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Timestamps:
(00:00) Is Political Violence America’s #1 Threat? (05:53) Populism vs Violent Populism: What’s the Difference? (07:15) How Much Do Americans Support Political Violence? (15:10) Is Political Violence Coming From the Right or Left? (20:53) Violent Populism Across the Political Spectrum (24:18) How Peaceful Protests Turn Violent (36:32) How Widespread Is Violent Populism? (43:52) What Does a Political Violence Supporter Look Like? (49:22) How Do Ordinary People Become Radicalised? (56:27) Does Supporting Political Violence Make It More Likely? (01:03:50) Are Violent Extremists or Their Sympathisers Worse? (01:06:40) Is Violent Populism Exclusive to America? (01:19:31) Why We Should Be Worried About the Midterms (01:21:43) Would Political Violence Be Different If the Democrats Had Won in 2024? (01:25:38) Civil Unrest: Self-Generated or Manufactured by Enemies? (01:33:09) Who Benefits From America’s Civil Unrest? (01:36:12) What Role Does Trump Play in America’s Civil Unrest? (01:42:34) Where to Find Robert
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