A majority of Americans believe US President Donald Trump faces a higher risk of assassination than recent presidents following two separate shooting incidents over the past year, according to a new Economist/YouGov poll.
The poll, released this week shortly after a shooter opened fire outside the White House Correspondents’ Dinner at the Washington Hilton on April 25, found that 64% of Americans feel Trump is at greater risk of assasination than previous presidents, while only 6% said he is at less risk.
The accused gunman in the April shooting has been charged with attempting to assassinate Trump, among other offenses. The incident came months after Trump survived an assassination attempt during a 2024 campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where he was shot in the ear.
Americans increasingly concerned over threats against Trump
Republicans are likely to view Trump as facing an elevated threat, with 81% saying that he poses more risk than other recent presidents. Independents had 63% in agreement, while Democrats had 46%.
The poll also found that Americans remain divided over whether rhetoric from Trump’s political opponents bears responsibility for assassination attempts against him.
Half of the respondents said political rhetoric carried either “some” or “a great deal” of responsibility for the attacks, while the other half said opposing rhetoric held little or no responsibility.
The divide was sharp; about half of Republicans said hostile rhetoric carried a “great deal” of responsibility, while majorities of Democrats and Independents said it bore little or no responsibility.
Secret Service ratings improve after previous criticism
Public confidence in the Secret Service appears to have improved since the 2024 campaign shooting.
According to the poll, 46% of Americans now say the Secret Service is doing a “good” or “excellent” job protecting the president, compared to 40% who rated the agency’s performance as fair or poor.
That marks an improvement from July 2024, when only 34% rated the agency positively following the Butler shooting, while 53% expressed negative views.
Republicans were again more likely to approve of the agency’s performance, with 60% rating its work positively, compared to 39% of Democrats and 42% of Independents.
Americans oppose Trump’s ballroom proposal
The poll also examined reactions to Trump’s proposal to build a new ballroom at the White House following the April shooting.
Trump argued after the incident that hosting larger events inside the White House complex would improve presidential security.
Still, Americans appeared unconvinced. Only 26% said it is unsafe for presidents to attend events outside the White House, while 48% said such appearances remain safe.
The proposal itself also faced opposition. Only 25% supported tearing down the East Wing of the White House to build a ballroom, while 55% opposed the idea.
If the project were to move forward, however, most Americans said they would prefer it to be privately funded. Nearly two-thirds of respondents said private donors should finance the ballroom instead of Congress appropriating federal funds for the project.
