Four years later, the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol continues to be met with disapproval from a large and bipartisan majority of Americans, although Republicans’ disapproval has become more tempered, a trend that first emerged in CBS News polling just months after the attack.
The percentage of Republicans who strongly disapprove of the Jan. 6 attack has dropped more than 20 points since January 2021 — from 51% then to 30% now — the lowest level since the attack, recent CBS News polling shows.
Along with that softening of disapproval comes majority-Republican support for Donald Trump to pardon those who forced their way into the Capitol, something most Americans overall would oppose.
Overall, there is more public opposition to the actions of those who forced their way into the Capitol on Jan. 6 than there is to pardons for those actions. This is partly because most of those who somewhat disapprove of the Jan. 6 attack, rather than strongly disapprove of it, favor Trump pardons for those involved — a group that includes many Republicans and 2024 Trump voters.
With Congress set to formally count the electoral votes of the 2024 presidential election, nearly all Republicans consider Donald Trump to be the legitimate winner, as does most of the country, according to a November CBS News poll. Republicans’ views about 2024 are a reversal of their views of the 2020 presidential election. Just weeks after the 2020 election, most Republicans said President Biden was not the legitimate winner, a belief they have continued to hold.
This analysis is based on a CBS News/YouGov survey that was conducted with a nationally representative sample of 2,244 U.S. adults interviewed between December 18-20, 2024. The sample was weighted to be representative of adults nationwide according to gender, age, race, and education, based on the U.S. Census American Community Survey and Current Population Survey, as well as 2024 presidential vote. The margin of error is ±2.4 points.
and
contributed to this report.
