The next is a transcript of an interview with College of Chicago Professor Robert Pape that aired Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, on "Face the Nation."
MARGARET BRENNAN: We flip now to democracy and politics. College of Chicago Professor Robert Pape research political violence. And Professor Pape, Good morning to you.
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PROFESSOR ROBERT PAPE: Good morning.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Good to have you ever right here in particular person. After we spoke again in January, in regards to the analysis you've got finished at that time, you issued a warning that caught with us since you talked about the specter of political violence across the midterm elections. We're 50 days away. What are you apprehensive about now?
PAPE: Margaret, we've got not only a political menace to our democracy, we've got a violent menace to our democracy. It is vital to do not forget that January 6, wasn't simply trespassing and going right into a federal constructing. Hundreds of people used violence to cease the peaceable switch of presidential energy. What we've got been monitoring at our heart on the College of Chicago, the Chicago Venture on Safety and Threats, for a 12 months and a half is the violent portion of that insurrectionist motion. At this time, there are hundreds of thousands of people who do not simply suppose the election was stolen in 2020; they assist violence to revive Donald Trump to the White Home. In reality, simply over the weekend, that's just some days in the past, we carried out our most up-to-date nationally consultant survey. At this time, there are 13 million people, the equal, I ought to say, of 13 million people who assist the usage of pressure to revive Donald Trump to the presidency.
MARGARET BRENNAN: That is about 5 % of the US inhabitants.
PAPE: 5 %.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You have got extrapolated out out of your analysis. That is clearly disturbing. I wish to ask you in regards to the context we're in proper now, as a result of we're seeing a number of stressors, the financial system clearly certainly one of them, and what we have been speaking about right now, immigration and migration. You had been on final time speaking about one thing known as the Nice Alternative Idea, and that's the perception amongst a few of these insurrectionists that the Democratic Social gathering is making an attempt to switch voters with new folks, extra obedient voters. How widespread is that conviction and does what is occurring now in cities up and down the east coast set off this?
PAPE: It possible may Margaret reinforce these fears of the Nice Alternative. To be clear, we're specializing in not simply assist for Trump, however the violent assist for Trump that overrides democracy. And whenever you take a look at that, what you see is there are two huge drivers amongst these 13 million people. The primary driver is that this concern of the Nice Alternative, the concept the Democratic Social gathering is changing the present voters the present White voters, with extra minority voters from the third world.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And to be clear, non-U.S. residents can't vote in federal elections within the midterm races simply to be abundantly clear.
PAPE: That is proper. That's right. It's a conspiracy principle nevertheless it's not simply on fringe social media like Parler or Gab, 4chan, 8chan. That is day by day on Fox Information, it is on Newsmax, it is on One America, it is on speak radio. So that is driver primary. Driver quantity two is a perception within the Qanon cult thought, which at first blush sounds a bit of, nearly laughable, that stated they'd consider a satanic group of pedophiles, runs the US authorities. However we have finished focus teams with these people. And what they actually imply by that, Margaret, is that there are politicians which have gotten on the Lolita Categorical with Jeffrey Epstein, and have taken cash for foundations, for political support--
MARGARET BRENNAN: Corruption.
PAPE: For corruption. That is what's actually happening. So for those who marry these two collectively, you have got a harmful cocktail. You have got the concern of this Nice Alternative occurring by a Democratic Social gathering, after which you have got the concern of corruption and immorality, and that is that harmful mixture that is resulting in violent assist towards our democracy.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So, you simply talked about Qanon. And as you simply defined, it is a set of conspiracy theories involving intercourse trafficking, and there may be this perception that President- former President Trump is the one particular person or one of many individuals who can finish all of it. And I wish to play some video right here as a result of at a political rally final evening, Mr. Trump used a music titled after a Qanon slogan. I will play the sound, and and listeners should hearken to the music, not essentially what the President is saying, hearken to the background music.
DONALD TRUMP SOT: It will by no means have occurred with me as your Commander in Chief. And for 4 lengthy years, it did not occur. and China, with Taiwan is subsequent.
MARGARET BRENNAN: That could be a QAnon music. The previous president has posted photos of himself sporting a Q on his lapel on social media with the phrase, "The storm is coming." That is one other certainly one of their slogans. What- what does all of this imply, and is it threatening?
PAPE: First, it's threatening, simply to chop proper to the center of it. What it means is that the previous president is keen to court docket not simply supporters of his however those that assist violence for his objectives, quantity certainly one of which is being restored to the White Home. That is extraordinarily disturbing, as a result of properly, within the fall of 2020, in a presidential debate, Donald Trump could possibly be requested, 'Nicely, have you learnt what a proud boy is, or have you learnt what QAnon is?' And he may say, 'Oh, I am not so positive.' That is not the case right now. At this time, it is fairly clear. And the issue that we face is that again and again in tweets by the previous president, he's intentionally stoking not simply the fires of anger getting him political assist, however the fires which might be resulting in that violent 13, the equal of 13 million. And that's actually the center of our downside that we face as a menace to democracy. As a result of if it is only a political menace, properly, then we will have elections, however as soon as it is not simply denying an election, however utilizing violence because the response to an election denial, now we're in a brand new sport. And that is why it is so vital we've got this dialog.
MARGARET BRENNAN: What has the FBI search of the previous president's house finished to the folks you're monitoring?
PAPE: So, what we have finished in our ballot, the one which we only in the near past did over the weekend, is we requested a further query, which is, 'Do you consider that the usage of pressure is justified to forestall the prosecution of Donald Trump for mishandling categorized info?' And the numbers go up a bit. Not huge- goes from 13 to fifteen million. However curiously, after we pull aside the info, you get a barely totally different set of supporters. So, what's actually regarding is there's a bit of little bit of ebb and circulation that goes up as we see new points come on the horizon and that implies that we have to simply notice that is actually vital, and we have to have this nationwide dialog about what we actually need in our nation.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And that is why we've got you right here right now to- to start out that dialog sir. Thanks for sharing your info. We'll be again in a second.