What Drives Political Violence in America
5/4/202638 min
In the midst of a cascade of violent acts against political figures in the United States, a few questions keep coming up — how did we get here, and how much worse could it really get?
Robert Pape, a professor at the University of Chicago and one of the country’s leading voices on political violence, discusses why violence is on the rise and what it would take to stop it.
Guest: Robert Pape, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago.
Background reading:
- Is the United States in a politically violent age? This is what the data and history say.
- Here’s how to understand claims about U.S. political violence and threats to presidents.
Photo: Doug Mills/The New York Times, Kenny Holston for The New York Times and Adriana Zehbrauskas for The New York Times
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSpeaker 0· Soundbite0:00
[gentle music] The Opinions Podcast from New York Times Opinion, bringing you a mix of conversations and new ideas, featuring the voices of our writers and columnists.
Robert Pape· Guest0:12
To me, the single-most underestimated force in international relations is actually stupidity.
Speaker 0· Soundbite0:18
Including- Jamil Bui. Tressie McMillan Cottom. Michelle Goldberg.
Speaker 2· Soundbite0:22
Thomas Friedman.
Speaker 0· Soundbite0:23
And many more. Find The Opinions wherever you get your podcasts.
Natalie Kitroeff· Host0:27
[upbeat music] From The New York Times, I'm Natalie Kitroeff. This is The Daily. In the midst of a cascade of violent acts against political figures- It happened in Minnesota, the murder of a state representative and her husband in what's being called a politically motivated attack.
Speaker 2· Soundbite0:53
This morning, a man is charged in connection with an arson at the Pennsylvania governor's residence while Governor Shapiro and his family slept inside.
Speaker 0· Soundbite1:02
Charlie Kirk has been shot.
Natalie Kitroeff· Host1:05
The latest from the White House Correspondents Dinner, the Secret Service has a person in custody after shots were fired. And in the wake of what appears to be the third assassination attempt against President Trump- The New York Times reports the suspected shooter's one-thousand-word manifesto says Trump administration figures were his targets. The question that keeps coming up is, how did we get here? And how much worse could it really get?