Towery: 70% Of Americans Don’t Want To Attend Political Events Due To Fear Of Violence
Political analyst and pollster Matt Towery argues that today’s media environment and online commentary have fueled fears of political violence that have caused Americans to fear going to public events. “The main culprits are the people are going to be at that dinner tonight,” Towery said. “Some of them, the media has really gone to a different level than we ever saw them at before, and it is incredible. Some of the things they say, some of the things that are said on some of the talk shows, and I think it’s amped up this belief that you could take action, you could take violent action in some instances.”
LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS: Now, Matt, a little bit on the political aspect of this, or this the fallout of this. 10 percent of Americans are now calling politics the greatest source of risk. I guess physical risk. 34 percent say road related accidents. 19 percent crime and violence. 10 percent politics. I mean, it’s actually on the list to your safety. Now, you and I grew up in the — you know became political in the 80s, and we saw you know everyone called Reagan, Ronny Reagan. He was going to blow up the world, and it’s like evil empire, and you know Jackson Brown did the ‘No Nukes’ concerts and all that, but something very, very different is happening today. What explains it? MATT TOWERY, POLITICAL ANALYST AND POLLSTER: Well, I think several things. The main culprits are the people are going to be at that dinner tonight. Some of them, the media has really gone to a different level than we ever saw them at before, and it is incredible. Some of the things they say, some of the things that are said on some of the talk shows, and I think it’s amped up this belief that you could take action, you could take violent action in some instances. Now we also, of course, have online presence of people, podcasters, and folks who you know they’re not regulated. They say all kinds of things, and this is all infecting the overall American population. In fact, you know there was a study that showed 70 percent of Americans believe that they don’t want to go to a political event because they believe violence may take place there. So, with the people you see going to these things, that’s less than 50 percent of America are even willing to go to them in the first place, so it has become a big issue. And Donald Trump ought to be given a medal for going to this thing tonight. He’s got Iran going on. He got threatened before; they had to whisk him out. Now, he’s got to be with a bunch of journalists on a Friday night — INGRAHAM: Who hate him. TOWERY: — who don’t like him. I mean, goodness gracious, give that man a medal and let him go home.
