Democrats were outraged last month when Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson dared to broadcast the unedited video footage of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S Capitol, as supplied by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Now we know why.
Carlson was effective in undermining the narrative.
Conservative pollster Rasmussen Reports noted on Wednesday that a new survey reveals nearly two-thirds of those questioned believe the J6 melee was an inside job.
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Perhaps surprisingly, that group includes a strong majority of Democrats.
In a statement about the results, Rasmussen noted that 65% of likely U.S. voters “think it’s likely that undercover government agents helped provoke the so-called J6 riot,” with 46% saying it is “very likely.”
Comparatively, just 26% don’t believe federal agents lit the J6 fuse, including 12% who said that was not at all likely.
But those previously unseen videos of the Capitol riot also created a split on whether people believe former President Donald Trump’s fans were staging an “illegal insurrection.”
On that question, 32% said they were more likely to think that after watching the videos, yet 32% said they were less likely to think that about Trump’s faithful.
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One surprising outcome in the poll was the party divide.
Among Republicans, 74% told Rasmussen that it was “at least somewhat likely” government agents acted as instigators of the violence.
Yet on that issue, 62% of independents and 59% of Democrats also told Rasmussen that government provocateurs played some part.
Another curious take was offered by the racial breakdown.
While 62% of whites thought it was “at least somewhat likely” government agents stirred the pot, 65% of blacks and 75% of other minorities agreed with them.
After Carlson aired the footage, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre denounced the broadcast, telling reporters that President Joe Biden “has been very clear: Jan. 6 was the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War.”
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