Political rhetoric has gone too far on both sides of the aisle, survey finds

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More Americans believe political rhetoric has gone too far on both sides of the aisle than they did in the past, according to a new Gallup poll.

The latest poll was conducted Oct. 1-16, shortly after Republican activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated while speaking at a Utah college.

Gallup asked Americans an updated question that had been previously posed in 2011 following a mass shooting that injured former Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

Political rhetoric gone too far

By the numbers:

Gallup says 69% of Americans surveyed now believe the Republican Party and Republicans have gone too far. That’s a 16-percentage-point increase from 2011.

Gallup says 60% of Americans surveyed believe the same about the Democratic Party and Democrats. That’s a nine-point increase from 14 years ago.

What they're saying:

Republicans and Democrats are now nearly unanimous in their beliefs that the other party has gone too far with its rhetoric, much more so than they were in 2011, the Gallup poll found. 

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Gallup found that 94% of Democrats believe Republicans have gone too far, up from 74% in 2011. On the other side, 93% of Republicans say the same about Democrats, up from 63% in 2011, but neither party tends to say the same about itself. 

FILE - More Americans believe political rhetoric has gone too far on both sides of the aisle than they did in the past, according to a new Gallup poll.(Photo by Eric Lee/Getty Images)

Political independents are much more likely now to say that both parties have gone too far. Gallup found that 74% of independents surveyed believe GOP rhetoric has gone too far, a 22-point increase over 2011. Independents also say 62% of Democrats are being too inflammatory, up 14 points from 2011.

What’s causing the rise in political violence?

Big picture view:

Researchers have seen a notable increase in political violence since Giffords was shot in 2011 and Republican Rep. Steve Scalise was shot and wounded at a congressional baseball game in 2017. Those include two assassination attempts on President Donald Trump, the murders of Minnesota Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, and the assassination of Kirk in September. 

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Gallup identified seven potential factors for the recent rise in political violence, and asked Americans how much blame they put on each one. Here’s what they found: