The good news is that deeply divided Americans agree on at least one thing. The bad news is they share the view that their nearly 2½-century-old democracy is in danger — and disagree drastically about who is threatening it.
In a remarkable consensus, a new Quinnipiac University poll found that 69% of Democrats and 69% of Republicans say that democracy is "in danger of collapse.” But one side blames former President Donald Trump and his "MAGA Republicans” while the other fingers President Joe Biden and the "socialist Democrats.”
So when Biden delivers a warning about the fate of democracy as he did Thursday night, the public hears two vastly different messages, underscoring deep rifts in American society that make it an almost ungovernable moment in the nation’s history. Not only do Americans diverge sharply over important issues such as abortion, immigration and the economy, they see the world in fundamentally different and incompatible ways.