Once considered Trump's private militia, the Proud Boys are going through some tough times. Several of their top leaders have been arrested and may wind up being tried for sedition and spending the better part of a decade in prison. And this morning, the Washington Post reported that Canada, after unanimous passage of a resolution in Parliament, had officially declared the Proud Boys a terrorist organization, "adding the far-right group to a list that includes al-Qaeda, ISIS and al-Shabab as part of an effort to crack down on what senior government officials called one of the country’s 'most serious threats.' ... Designation as a terrorist group carries financial and legal consequences. Police can seize the property of the group or its members; banks can seize their assets. It’s a crime to knowingly provide assistance to a designated group to facilitate or carry out attacks. Group members may be denied entry to Canada... The Proud Boys was formed in 2016 by Vice Media co-founder Gavin McInnes, a Canadian. The far-right, male-only group of self-described 'Western chauvinists' has a history of street violence, including against Black Lives Matter demonstrators. Canada said the group played a 'pivotal role' in the attack on the Capitol."
Last week the U.S. Department of Homeland Security warned about the "heightened threat of ideologically motivated violent extremists with objections to the exercise of governmental authority and the presidential transition" and "perceived grievances fueled by false narratives."
Earlier in the week, Trump's chief pollster, Tony Fabrizio, issued a secret-- now leaked-- post-mortem on Trump's 7 million vote loss in November. He pointedly not not say Trump lost because of voter fraud or election rigging or anything like that. Although he blames Trump's loss primarily on his disastrous mishandling of the pandemic, he also noted that voters perceived Trump as an untrustworthy liar and noted that Trump also lost ground with every age group compared to 2016, and had his "greatest erosion with white voters, particularly white men."
Fabrizio pointed out that independent voters abandoned Trump in masses, offsetting increased GOP turnout. He also pointed out that among voters who did not vote in ’16 but voted in ’20-- accounting for roughly 1-in-6 voters-- broke markedly for Biden, especially in key battlegrounds: Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and Pennsylvania.
Obviously, all this polling was done before Trump's failed coup attempt which has further undercut his approval among voters. A YouGov poll released this week shows Trump underwater with voters. Respondents were asked how much responsibility Trump has for the takeover of the Capitol:
A lot- 40%
Some 10%
A little- 10%
None- 29%
Not sure- 10%
As for domestic terrorism as a threat to the country:
An immediate and serious threat- 33%
A somewhat serious threat- 28%
A minor threat- 19%
No threat- 10%
Not sure- 10%
47% of respondents approved of him being impeached and 45% disapproved. Similarly 45% want to see him convicted and 43% do not. Interestingly just 39% said he should be allowed to run for president again and 49% said he shouldn't allowed to.
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