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Join Telegram ChannelA new poll found that most Americans do not trust the Secret Service to protect presidential candidates from violence following the shooting at Trump's rally in Pennsylvania three weeks ago.
The survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that only about 3 in 10 Americans are extremely or very confident in the Secret Service's ability to protect presidential candidates ahead of the November election.
The poll of 1,143 adults, conducted following the resignation of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, also found that Democrats and Republicans are divided over who should be held responsible for the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump in Butler.
Six in 10 Democrats say the availability of guns is largely to blame, compared with about a third of independents and 15 percent of Republicans. Nearly half of Republicans say the Secret Service bears a large part of the blame, compared with about 4 in 10 Democrats and independents.
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Former President Trump is seen raising his fist after being shot in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13. (Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images)
Overall, about 7 in 10 Americans believe the Secret Service bears at least a moderate amount of responsibility for the assassination attempt, while half of Americans believe local law enforcement in Pennsylvania bears at least a moderate amount of responsibility, the poll found.
The poll also found that Americans were most likely to say that political division in the United States had a “great deal” of responsibility for the assassination attempt.
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U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned this month after testifying before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee about the attempted assassination of former President Trump. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
Only about a third of Americans said they were extremely or very confident that the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Secret Service, will conduct a full and fair investigation into the attempted assassination of Trump.
The Secret Service was originally created within the Treasury Department to investigate counterfeiting of U.S. currency during the Civil War. The agency began informally protecting presidents in 1894, according to its records. Congress requested Secret Service protection for U.S. presidents after the assassination of William McKinley in 1901.
Thomas Matthew Crooks is seen crawling on a rooftop moments before he attempted to assassinate former President Trump. The poll shows Democrats and Republicans are split over who was responsible for the shooting. (DJ Laughery. Insert: Obtained by Fox News Digital)
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The protection was extended to the president's immediate family, presidents-elect, and vice presidents after a White House police officer was shot and killed while protecting President Harry S. Truman in 1950. It was later extended to former presidents in 1965. Following the 1968 assassination of U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, who was running for the Democratic presidential nomination, Congress authorized protection for major presidential and vice presidential candidates.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.