Most Americans don't trust the Secret Service: poll
A new poll has found that most Americans do not trust the U.S. Secret Service.
The poll, according to Fox News, comes from the Associated Press and from NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
The poll comes as the Secret Service continues to face significant criticism for its handling of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
Weeks have passed and many big questions remain, including the biggest question of all - how a 20-year-old was able to so easily get past security and get off several shots at Trump.
The results
The entire poll can be found here. It was conducted between July 25 and July 29, 2024. The pollster surveyed 1,143 adults nationwide.
Among other things, participants were asked whether "the Secret Service can keep presidential candidates safe from violence before the election."
Overall, the pollster found that only 31% of participants said that they are either "extremely" or "very confident" that the Secret Service can do so. 40% said "somewhat confident," while 28% said "not very/not at all confident."
The poll further found that Democrat participants were far more likely to express confidence in the Secret Service than Republican and Independent participants.
For example, 43% of Democrat participants said that they are "extremely/very confident" that the Secret Service can protect the presidential candidates, while only 22% of Republicans and 21% of Independents said the same.
It is not just the Secret Service who's in trouble
It has to be remembered that the Secret Service is under the purview of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and Americans do not seem to feel any better about the DHS than they do about the Secret Service.
Participants were asked whether they believe that "the DHS will conduct a full and fair investigation of the assassination attempt against Donald Trump."
Overall, 36% of participants said that they are "extremely/very confident" that the DHS will do so. This includes 52% of Democrats, but only 25% of Independents and 21% of Republicans.
Overall, only 34% of participants said that they are "somewhat confident" that the DHS will conduct a full and fair investigation of the assassination attempt, while only 29% of participants said that they are "not very/not at all confident" that this will happen. As suggested, these percentages would be far worse if they were not buoyed by Democratic participants.
What the poll suggests is that the American people are not too happy with either the Secret Service or with the DHS following the assassination attempt on Trump.