{"id":7810,"date":"2024-01-31T14:57:18","date_gmt":"2024-01-31T19:57:18","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-05-07T10:40:13","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T14:40:13","slug":"most-americans-say-elected-officials-should-avoid-heated-or-aggressive-speech","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2024\/01\/31\/most-americans-say-elected-officials-should-avoid-heated-or-aggressive-speech\/","title":{"rendered":"Most Americans say elected officials should avoid heated or aggressive speech"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Seven-in-ten Americans say elected officials should avoid heated or aggressive language because it could encourage some people to take violent action. By contrast, 29% say officials should be able to use heated language without worrying about how some people may act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-640-wide is-resized\"><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-8653\" href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2024\/01\/31\/most-americans-say-elected-officials-should-avoid-heated-or-aggressive-speech\/sr_24-01-31_heated-language_1-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e9e6de\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/01\/SR_24.01.31_heated-language_1.png?resize=480,375 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/01\/SR_24.01.31_heated-language_1.png?resize=782,611 782w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/01\/SR_24.01.31_heated-language_1.png?resize=840,656 840w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"500\" width=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/01\/SR_24.01.31_heated-language_1.png?w=640\" alt=\"A diverging bar chart showing that majorities in both parties \u2013 though more Democrats than Republicans \u2013 say elected officials should avoid heated or aggressive language.\" class=\"wp-image-8653 not-transparent\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e9e6de; width:420px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are sizable partisan differences in these opinions, with Democrats more likely than Republicans to say elected officials should avoid heated language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>A narrow majority of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (56%) say elected officials should avoid heated or aggressive language<\/strong>, while 43% say officials should be able to express themselves with this kind of language without worrying about whether people may act on what they say. Republicans today are more likely than in 2019 to see the use of heated or aggressive language by elected officials as acceptable: In 2019, 37% said officials should be able to use this kind of language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By contrast, <strong>the vast majority of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents (83%) say elected officials should avoid using heated language<\/strong>, while 16% say officials should be able to use this kind of language without worrying about how some people might act. There has been no change in views among Democrats since 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n<div style=\"border-width:1px;padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);--block-gap: inherit\" class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible has-background has-ui-beige-very-light-background-color has-border-color has-ui-beige-dark-border-color\" id=\"how-we-did-this\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/collapsible&quot;}\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;collapsibleId&quot;:&quot;how-we-did-this&quot;,&quot;isOpen&quot;:false}\" data-wp-class--is-open=\"context.isOpen\" data-wp-init--scroll-into-view=\"callbacks.onInitScrollIntoView\"><div class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible__title\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.onClick\"><div>How we did this<\/div><button class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible__icon\"><span data-wp-bind--hidden=\"context.isOpen\"><i class=\"icon icon-library__light icon__circle-plus\"><svg style=\"width: 1em; height: 1em;\"><use xlink:href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/plugins\/prc-icon-library\/build\/icons\/sprites\/light.svg#circle-plus\"><\/use><\/svg><\/i><\/span><span data-wp-bind--hidden=\"!context.isOpen\" hidden><i class=\"icon icon-library__light icon__circle-minus\"><svg style=\"width: 1em; height: 1em;\"><use xlink:href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/plugins\/prc-icon-library\/build\/icons\/sprites\/light.svg#circle-minus\"><\/use><\/svg><\/i><\/span><\/button><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible__content\">\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pew Research Center conducted this study to understand how the public views the use of heated or aggressive language by elected officials and political candidates. For this analysis, we surveyed 5,140 adults from Jan. 16 to Jan. 21, 2024. Everyone who took part in this survey is a member of the Center\u2019s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/our-methods\/u-s-surveys\/the-american-trends-panel\/\">Read more about the ATP\u2019s methodology<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here are the <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/SR_24.01.31_heated-language_topline.pdf\">questions used for the report<\/a> and its <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2024\/01\/25\/economy-biden-methodology\/\">methodology<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition to the wide partisan gap on this question, there are some notable demographic differences, according to a new survey by Pew Research Center, conducted Jan. 16-21 among 5,140 adults:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"gender\">Gender<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-640-wide is-resized\"><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-8656\" href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2024\/01\/31\/most-americans-say-elected-officials-should-avoid-heated-or-aggressive-speech\/sr_24-01-31_heated-language_2-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"ecebeb\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"620\" height=\"864\"  sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/01\/SR_24.01.31_heated-language_2.png?resize=480,669 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/01\/SR_24.01.31_heated-language_2.png?resize=620,864 620w\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/01\/SR_24.01.31_heated-language_2.png?w=620\" alt=\"A dot plot showing that, within each party, there are relatively modest differences in whether elected officials should avoid heated language.\" class=\"wp-image-8656 not-transparent\" style=\"--dominant-color: #ecebeb; width:310px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Women are 7 percentage points more likely than men to say elected officials should avoid heated language (73% vs. 66%). This overall gender gap is driven primarily by differences among Republicans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>61% of Republican women say elected officials should avoid heated language, compared with 51% of GOP men.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Democratic women and men do not differ substantially on this question.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"age\">Age<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At least two-thirds of U.S. adults in all age groups say elected officials should avoid heated language. But there are some modest age differences within partisan groups, particularly among Democrats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Democrats ages 50 and older are more likely than those under 50 to say elected officials should avoid heated language (89% vs. 79%).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>54% of Republicans under 50 and 58% of those ages 50 and older say elected officials should avoid using heated language.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"education\">Education<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Adults who have at least a bachelor\u2019s degree are more likely than those with less formal education to say elected officials should avoid the use of heated or aggressive language because it could encourage violence (77% vs. 66%). This pattern holds more among Democrats than Republicans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>91% of Democrats with at least a college degree say elected officials should avoid heated language, compared with 78% of Democrats who do not have a bachelor\u2019s degree.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Among Republicans, there is little difference on this question by education.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"do-views-differ-when-asked-about-political-candidates-rather-than-elected-officials\">Do views differ when asked about \u2018political candidates\u2019 rather than \u2018elected officials\u2019?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-640-wide is-resized\"><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-8660\" href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2024\/01\/31\/most-americans-say-elected-officials-should-avoid-heated-or-aggressive-speech\/sr_24-01-31_heated-language_3-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e9e6dd\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"620\" height=\"884\"  sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/01\/SR_24.01.31_heated-language_3.png?resize=480,684 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/01\/SR_24.01.31_heated-language_3.png?resize=620,884 620w\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/01\/SR_24.01.31_heated-language_3.png?w=620\" alt=\"A bar chart showing no difference in views of how \u2018political candidates\u2019 versus \u2018elected officials\u2019 should approach heated language.\" class=\"wp-image-8660 not-transparent\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e9e6dd; width:310px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Americans hold nearly identical views about the acceptability of \u201cpolitical candidates\u201d using heated or aggressive language and the acceptability of \u201celected officials\u201d doing so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The same is true among partisans: Slim majorities of Republicans say political candidates (54%) and elected officials (56%) should not use heated language. And nearly identical shares of Democrats say political candidates (85%) and elected officials (83%) should avoid heated language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Note: Here are the <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/SR_24.01.31_heated-language_topline.pdf\">questions used for the report<\/a> and its <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2024\/01\/25\/economy-biden-methodology\/\">methodology<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Seven-in-ten Americans say elected officials should avoid heated or aggressive language because it could encourage some people to take violent 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