Political violence in the US likely to increase

Washington: As the US mid-term polls approach, the political violence is likely to increase as per a report of CBS, a leading news channel and YouGov. In an opinion poll, more than 60% of the citizens responded that the political violence in the United States would increase in the coming period. A few days ago, US President Joe Biden stated that supporters of former President Donald Trump are a danger to democracy and referred to them as extremists. In response, former President Trump criticised Biden as the Enemy of the State. Against this backdrop, the report predicting the possibility of increased violence becomes significant.

Moreover, US media, think tanks, analysts and even former military officers are constantly drawing attention to the country’s solid political polarisation, resulting in conflicts and violence. Previously there was a violent protest by a group for Black Lives Matter during the 2020 presidential election, which was followed by a fierce backlash by Trump supporters in the US Congress on January 6th, 2021. The current Biden administration in the United States has failed to reduce polarisation and differences. On the contrary, due to the policies and decisions of President Joe Biden, the discontent among US citizens has intensified further.

Just last month, academics, historians and experts in the United States warned the Biden administration that the present situation was like the pre-civil war. The earlier reports also indicated a higher number of US citizens taking up arms for political purposes. In a report by the University of California, more than 50% of citizens predicted that a second civil war would break out soon. The recent report confirms the growing divide between supporters of political ideologies.

In the report of CBS and YouGov, 64% of US citizens indicated a high possibility of political violence. There is an increase of 13% since the last polls were done about 18 months back. 80% of citizens feel that the United States is becoming more divided. More than 50% expressed doubt about the survival of democracy in the United States.

A few days ago, during an event, President Joe Biden criticised former president Trump and his supporters in vitriolic words. By saying that supporters of Trump are fundamentalists, Biden accused them of endangering democracy in the country. While replying to him, Trump remarked that Biden had become insane and referred to him as the Enemy of the State.