Civil war? More people see political rivals as enemies

Americans are extremely divided — seemingly more so than at any time in recent history. Now with stories of political violence making headlines, ongoing fights and threats over ideological splits on key issues, and growing distrust in core institutions, talk of “civil war” has crept up.

The pronounced divide is backed up in polling numbers. According to a new CBS poll, 49% of Republicans see Democrats as “enemies” and not just “political opposition.” And 47% of Democrats say the same about Republicans.

The nation’s division has led to nearly two-thirds (64%) of Americans saying they believe political violence will increase in the coming years.

These major divides are echoed in the highest quarters of American leadership. Just last week President Joe Biden called MAGA Republicans a “threat to our very Democracy” and to the “very foundations of our republic.”

In response, former President Donald Trump accused Biden of delivering “the most vicious, hateful and divisive speech ever delivered by an American president” and declared that Biden is “an enemy of the state.”

The fiery rhetoric is charging up voters ahead of the 2022 midterms, with social media users and celebrities going so far as to float the idea of a new civil war. One of the most prominent examples came this week when comedian Kathy Griffin tweeted, “If you don’t want a Civil War, vote for Democrats in November. If you do want Civil War, vote Republican.”

According to a recent poll from YouGov, the concern over a civil war is quite real: 43% of Americans told pollsters that they believe a civil war is likely in the next 10 years.

Exactly how or when a civil war would happen is not predictable, but experts say there is a pattern. Such conflicts tend to be started by people who who have had and lost power or are threatened with losing power. Experts also warn that a new civil war in the U.S. would look very different from the last one.