Via Mediaite: A new poll from the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia reveals that 52% of Trump voters and 41% of Biden voters ‘at least somewhat agree’ that red and blue states should secede from the union, splitting the country.
The idea that the nation’s political divide has become so toxic that we should prepare from some sort of “national divorce” has largely been left to clever thought experiments best left for dinner parties and ironically detached columns. However, we’ve now arrived at a point where more than half of Trump voters “somewhat agree” that the time for secession is nigh.
From the Center for Politics report:
Significant numbers of both Trump and Biden voters show a willingness to consider violating democratic tendencies and norms if needed to serve their priorities. Roughly 2 in 10 Trump and Biden voters strongly agree it would be better if a “President could take needed actions without being constrained by Congress or courts,” and roughly 4 in 10 (41%) of Biden and half (52%) of Trump voters at least somewhat agree that it’s time to split the country, favoring blue/red states seceding from the union.
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The poll also finds that while roughly 80% of Trump and Biden voters prefer democracy to a non-democratic form of government, 60% of Trump voters don’t see America as a representative democracy – and instead more of a system run by and rigged for the benefit of the wealthy.
Arguably more disturbing were the implications for the “other” party if secession did not occur. A sizable majority of both Trump and Biden voters agreed with the statement that “if our society so wants, it is the duty of every true citizen to help eliminate the evil that poisons our country from within.” Certainly no one’s coming forward defending (or identifying as) evil, but it would appear both parties are referring to each other when using such a term.
A whopping 80% of Biden voters and 84% of Trump voters agree that elected officials from the other party are “presenting a clear and present danger to American democracy.”
As far as ‘values’ are concerned, almost 90% of Trump voters believe that the Democratic party wants to “eliminate the influence of traditional values in American life and culture,” while 78% of Biden voters feel the same – substituting “progressive” for “traditional.”
It is not necessarily hate or disdain driving the divide – in many cases, it’s fear.
Both parties consider media that favor the opposite ‘side’ to be a de facto arm of the relevant party, with 77% of Democrats deeming the likes of Fox News a fake-news-sodden press organ of the GOP, while 88% of Republicans write off the likes of MSNBC as a hive of liberal shills.
More from the Center for Politics report:
— Majorities of Trump and Biden voters express support for several elements of the bipartisan infrastructure and reconciliation bills being debated in Congress, but there are marked differences in their levels of support.
— Majorities — often large majorities — of both Biden and Trump voters express some form of distrust for voters, elected officials, and media sources they associate with the other side. A strong majority of Trump voters see no real difference between Democrats and socialists, and a majority of Biden voters at least somewhat agree that there is no real difference between Republicans and fascists.
— Significant numbers of both Trump and Biden voters show a willingness to consider violating democratic tendencies and norms if needed to serve their priorities. Roughly 2 in 10 Trump and Biden voters strongly agree it would be better if a “President could take needed actions without being constrained by Congress or courts,” and roughly 4 in 10 (41%) of Biden and half (52%) of Trump voters at least somewhat agree that it’s time to split the country, favoring blue/red states seceding from the union.