Four in five Americans fear country is sliding into chaos, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds

Americans fear their country is spiralling out of control following an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, with worries growing that the November 5 election could spark more political violence, a Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on Tuesday found.

The two-day poll found Republican presidential candidate Trump opening a marginal lead among registered voters – 43 per cent to 41 per cent – over Democratic US President Joe Biden, an advantage that was within the poll’s 3 percentage point margin of error, suggesting the attempt on Trump’s life had not sparked a major shift in voter sentiment.

But 80 per cent of voters – including similar shares of Democrats and Republicans – said they agreed with a statement that “the country is spiralling out of the control.” The poll, which was conducted online, surveyed 1,202 US adults nationwide, including 992 registered voters.

Some 84 per cent of voters in the poll said they were concerned that extremists will commit acts of violence after the election, an increase from the results of a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in May that showed 74 per cent of voters having that fear.

In the Reuters/Ipsos poll, 65 per cent of registered Republicans said Trump was “favoured by divine providence or God’s will.” Eleven per cent of Democrats agreed.