For years now, there’s been an uptick in political division between Americans. Many people have ended up losing friendships or relationships with their families over politics or who someone voted for.
Reactions to COVID in 2020 and 2021 likewise fed into division. The various mandates that saw people excluded from society or forced out of work didn’t do any favors to calm down tensions rising.
When Joe Biden got into office, he spoke mightily about lowering tensions and bringing Americans of all political views together. Biden officially cast any notions of him doing this aside when he went after “MAGA Republicans” nearly one week ago, calling them fascists and dangers to democracy.
Now, a brand new poll shows most Americans believe this rhetoric is ratcheting up tensions to a dangerous degree, as documented by Newsmax.
The Reality of Biden’s Divisive, Failed Talking Points
In a poll run by Convention of States/Trafalgar, close to 57% of Americans agreed Biden’s remarks were meant to increase conflict and ultimately are dangerous as far as rhetoric goes.
62% of Independents and 89% of Republicans shared this view. Democrats, of course, were far more likely to be on board with Biden calling the opposition “semi-fascist” and at odds with American democracy.
Biden: I ran for president to restore "decency" and "honor" and to treat "people with some respect."
Biden has spent the past week smearing Trump voters as "backwards" and "full of anger, violence, hate, and division." pic.twitter.com/hrYboiLj5L
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 5, 2022
Biden’s speech last week was supposed to be about the “soul” of the United States. However, between the contents of the speech and the optics of him having Marines on both sides of him amid attacking conservatives didn’t go over well.
Even corporate media figures acknowledged the president’s divisive, failed talking points worked against his commitment to being a unifying president.
Various officials working for the Biden administration have since been grilled over this speech and its implications for the nation at large.
A Dangerous Tipping Point
Amid surging political division, bringing down the temperature and helping people come together is something that should be done. However, at this point, it’s become abundantly clear that Biden isn’t going to be the one to do this.
Last week’s speech was the most extreme example. However, it’s not the first time that the president’s shown a willingness to throw his political opposition under the bus if he believes it’ll render political benefits.
BIDEN: "Where am I going?" pic.twitter.com/mrbaYYUQG8
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 5, 2022
Just months ago, Biden was ripping into Republicans, calling them similar to segregationists simply because they didn’t want to nuke the filibuster.
While the president and his administration are now trying to do damage control over last week’s speech, it’s only a matter of time before another version of this materializes elsewhere.
What do you think about the new poll showing most Americans do view Biden’s speech as dangerous, divisive, and an unnecessary escalation in the country’s political discourse? Please share your feedback with us in the comments area.
This article appeared in The Conservative Brief and has been published here with permission.
