Calls to assassinate and positive attitudes about killing public figures, such as President Donald Trump and others, have become more normalized in the United States, according to a shocking new report, with a rise of "assassination culture" happening particularly on the left.
According to a poll done by the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI), a growing number of people are fine justifying or will even celebrate political assassination, and the change appears to have taken place recently.
The report states, "Political violence targeting Donald Trump and Elon Musk is becoming increasingly normalized. Following the July 13, 2024 attempted assassination of President Trump, tolerance — and even advocacy — for political violence appears to have surged, especially among politically left-leaning segments of the population."
When conducting a survey of over 1,200 US adults, 38 percent of those that responded said that it would at least be “somewhat justified” to kill President Doanld Trump. 31 percent said the same about the prospect of murdering Elon Musk.
When those responses were only narrowed to left-wing survey-takers, the majority of them (55 percent) said it would be “somewhat justified” to murder Trump, and 48 percent said the same for Musk.
"What was formerly taboo culturally has become acceptable," lead author on the NCRI report, Joel Finkelstein, told Fox News. "We are seeing a clear shift – glorification, increased attempts and changing norms – all converging into what we define as ‘assassination culture.’"
"Trump represents the perfect target for assassination culture. He’s powerful, he’s rich and he’s provocative," Finkelson added. "That puts him on the highest shelf for those who glorify political violence."
The report continued, saying that the increase in “assassination culture” expands on a “broader trend NCRI identified in two December 2024 reports which analyzed how viral social media narratives were legitimizing political violence, particularly in the aftermath of the UnitedHealthcare CEO’s assassination. The reports found widespread justification for lethal violence — including assassination — among younger, highly online, and ideologically left-aligned users.”
Support of vandalism and property damage in the name of political statements has also increased. When respondents were asked if it was justified to destroy a Tesla dealership, four in ten agreed and when it was limited to those on the left, that increased to 58 percent.
"Property destruction wasn’t just an outlier opinion, it clustered tightly with support for political assassinations and other forms of violence," Finkelstein added. "This points to a coherent belief system, not just isolated grievances. Tesla has become a stand-in for broader frustrations about capitalism, tech power and conservative politics. Burning down a dealership isn't just a protest, it’s a performance, a signal of belonging to a radical in-group."
The rate of endorsing political violence was significantly higher on the left versus right. "What we found was a statistically higher endorsement of political murder on the left, 41% more than among right-leaning participants,” Finkelstein added.
The lead author of the study believes that the roots of “assassination culture” stem from ideological capture as well as a feeling of being powerless after Kamala Harris lost to Trump.
"When people feel like they have no say, no future and no leadership offering vision, they become susceptible to radical ideation," he added. "And that’s when the memes turn into permission structures for real violence."
