Former President Donald Trump (again) during a recent speech in Ohio. Most of his supporters carried banners asking him to “Save America”. EPA photo/David Maxwell
A few days after the FBI searched Donald Trump’s mansion in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, Internet analysts noticed a disturbing phenomenon. Twitter messages about the “civil war” increased by 3,000 percent in a few hours, as followers of the former president condemned the raid by federal authorities. Similar trends have been recorded in the rest of social media platforms, while use of the phrase “civil war” has doubled in just 24 hours on radio and podcasts according to MME watchdog Critical Mention.
More than a century and a half after the end of the American Civil War, references to the Civil War, especially in the run-up to the November midterm elections, have become commonplace from the right of the ideological spectrum. Although the term is usually used figuratively and refers to the ideological polarization in the country, for many this phrase is a real perspective.
Opinion polls, surveys, and increased threats indicate that many Americans expect – and some even desire – continued political tension and violence, according to scholars of extremism. Although the trend is clear, experts struggle to explain it.
Experts warn that divisive rhetoric creates conditions for political violence.
Some far-right elements use the term “civil war” as an open invitation to an armed takeover of power. Others envision a heroic, prolonged resistance, with outbreaks of political violence. A third group believes that the country is in a “cold civil war” that manifests itself in a state of extreme polarization and mistrust, but without “hot” episodes.
Calls to violence don’t just come from anonymous accounts. Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green accused President Biden of devising a plan to kill all Republicans. Experts explain that the constant flow of warlike rhetoric has created an anticipation of future political violence. A recent poll by Britain’s YouGov showed that 54% of Republicans think civil war is “likely” over the next decade. Two years ago, a survey by the same company of a similar sample of the American population showed that 60% of respondents thought civil war was a very remote possibility.
Republicans have long claimed that their rhetoric is merely political, accusing Democrats of distorting it to further polarize it. Republicans say it is Democrats and leftists who drive violence when they call Trump followers’ ideology “quasi-fascist,” as President Biden did recently.
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