Polling released in the aftermath of US Capitol riots has revealed more Republican voters support it than oppose it.
A YouGov Direct poll of 1,397 registered voters who had heard about the event found 45 per cent of Republicans say they strongly or somewhat support the storming of Congress, while just over a third (34 per cent) strongly or somewhat oppose it.
That compares to 96 per cent of Democrats who opposed yesterday’s rioting, which coincided with the formal validation of Joe Biden’s presidential election victory.
The time-honoured ceremony is usually a quiet affair and is seen as a mere formality in the transfer of power, but yesterday it turned into an unprecedented political terror after a violent throng of pro-Trump rioters spent hours running rampant through the Capitol.
A woman was fatally shot, windows were smashed and the mob forced shaken legislators and aides to flee the building, shielded by police.
Today Donald Trump, who has been locked out of his social media accounts, pledged there will be an orderly transition even though he “totally disagrees with the outcome of the election”.
In a statement tweeted by his social media director Dan Scavino he said: “I have always said we would continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted. While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it’s only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again.”
Two US newspapers including the Miami Herald and Washington Post have called on the president’s Cabinet to remove him under the 25th Amendment following the riots.
“The president is unfit to remain in office for the next 14 days. Every second he retains the vast powers of the presidency is a threat to public order and national security,” reads one piece.
“Americans put on their seat belts, follow traffic laws, pay taxes and vote because of faith in a system — and that faith makes it work,” the article continues.
“The highest voice in the land incited people to break that faith, not just in tweets, but by inciting them to action. Mr Trump is a menace, and as long as he remains in the White House, the country will be in danger.”
Related: Anarchy in the USA: UK press reacts as democracy put ‘under siege’
