One in ten believe it’s acceptable to hold neo-Nazi views, a shocking new poll has revealed.
In the wake of the deadly Charlottesville rally, where white supremacist marchers clashed with anti-fascist protesters, a new poll has shown that a disturbing number of Americans support neo-Nazi beliefs.
Only 83 per cent of people would call the racist, supremacist views of neo-Nazis ‘unacceptable’.
One in ten believe it’s acceptable to hold neo-Nazi views, a shocking new poll has revealed
Nine per cent, or 22 million Americans, believe such views are ‘acceptable’ while another eight have no opinion, in the ABC News/Washington Post poll.
The results are surprising after the outrage over the neo-Nazi presence at the violent Charlottesville march, where a white supremacist plowed his car into the crowd, killing one and injuring 19 others.
Many politicians and high profile people spoke out to condemn the neo-Nazi and white supremacist movement, and President Trump came under fierce criticism when he appeared reluctant to do the same, initially laying blame on ‘many sides.’
Trump’s words were quickly denounced by members of his own party as a clumsy attempt to draw moral equivalence between Nazis and liberal activists.
‘Free speech’ demonstrators march holding confederate flags and banners during the Unite the Right free speech rally at Emancipation Park in Charlottesville, Virginia
Neo Nazis, Alt-Right, and White Supremacists encircle counter protesters at the base of a statue of Thomas Jefferson after marching through the University of Virginia campus with torches in Charlottesville on August 11
Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio lectured Trump on Twitter about the danger of suggesting anyone other than neo-Nazis shares the blame for Saturday’s violence.
‘Mr. President, you can’t allow #WhiteSupremacists to share only part of blame.
‘These groups today use SAME symbols & same arguments of #Nazi & #KKK, groups responsible for some of worst crimes against humanity ever.
‘The #WhiteSupremacy groups will see being assigned only 50% of blame as a win. We can not allow this old evil to be resurrected.’
House Speaker Paul Ryan didn’t fault Trump directly, but made it clear that he agreed with Trump’s earlier statements condemning neo-Nazis and omitting any claim that leftist protesters were in any way responsible.
‘We must be clear. White supremacy is repulsive,’ Ryan tweeted. ‘This bigotry is counter to all this country stands for. There can be no moral ambiguity.’
President Trump came under fierce criticism when he appeared reluctant to do the same, initially laying blame on ‘many sides’
The poll found that most Americans disapproved of Trump’s handling of the protest.
While just a third of people rejected the idea that Trump was equating counter protesters with the neo-Nazis and white supremacists.
Ten per cent of respondents also said they support the alt-right, compared to 50 per cent who oppose, and 40 who were undecided. The majority, 60 per cent, do not equate the alt-right with neo-Nazism.
The results were based off a random national sample of 1,014 adults.