President Biden and his political allies have repeatedly described former President Trump and his allies as threats to the foundations of America, warning democracy itself is at stake and positioning themselves as its savior.
According to one poll released last month, preserving democracy is a top issue in this year’s election, particularly among Democrat voters.
Ironically, however, a range of recent polling suggests that by seeking to prosecute, silence and stigmatize their political opponents as anti-democratic “extremists,” Biden and other Democrats are arousing fears among voters that it is they themselves who are acting in heavy-handed ways alien to the American democratic tradition.
Last month, Biden delivered a speech in Philadelphia vilifying Trump and the Make America Great Again movement aligned with him. “Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our Republic,” he declared.
Biden clarified that “not every Republican, not even the majority of Republicans, are MAGA Republicans” before adding: “But there’s no question that the Republican Party today is dominated, driven, and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans. And that is a threat to this country.”
Biden went on to say that MAGA Republicans don’t respect the Constitution or the rule of law, echoing claims he’s made several times during his presidency describing Trump and his supporters. In one case, he called them “semi-fascist.”
A majority of Americans, however, disapproved of Biden’s speech in Philadelphia as itself divisive, dangerous, and going too far, according to multiple polls.
One of the surveys found a striking 62% of independents said Biden’s address was “a dangerous escalation in rhetoric and designed to incite conflict amongst Americans.” A mere 31% of independents said it was acceptable rhetoric during an election year.
Meanwhile, in a new poll conducted by the Trafalgar Group for the Association of Mature American Citizens, a majority of respondents, 51%, said they “believe the Biden administration has crossed an important ethical line in pursuing political opponents.”
Just 41% rejected the statement.
