Jan. 6 hearings not impacting public opinion: poll

The House Jan. 6 committee hearings have not affected public opinion about the U.S. Capitol riot or former President Donald Trump, and, in fact, fewer people now view Trump as responsible for the incident, according to a Monmouth University poll.

The survey, taken before the FBI's raid on Trump's Florida home, also showed that four in ten Americans support the former president making a comeback in 2024.

Voters were asked at the end of June, right before former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson testified to the committee, for their thoughts about the riot and Trump, with a second poll on the same issues conducted more than a month later.

Nearly all opinions between the two surveys remained within the margin of error of +/- 3.5%. 

The only view on Trump that changed beyond the margin of error is that 4% fewer Americans said they view Trump as "directly responsible" for Jan. 6 now.

"The sensational revelations during the hearings do not seem to have moved the public opinion needle on Trump's culpability for either the riot or his spurious election fraud claims," Monmouth University Polling Institute Director Patrick Murray said. "This continues to give political cover to Republican leaders who avoid addressing the damage done to our democratic processes that day."