Politics
Biden’s Identity Politics and the Media Have Divided a Nation
President Joe Biden campaigned on a promise to unite the country, but three years later, the clear majority of Americans believe he and his administration are doing more to divide the country through identity politics.
A whopping 92% of Republicans polled claimed Biden was separating the country, while 84% of Democrats felt he was doing more to bring the country together. Half of independents, a major voting demographic that has been critical of Biden, said he was dividing the country.
On the campaign trail, in his victory speech, and in his inaugural address, Biden emphasised the importance of togetherness. Just last week, the president issued another call for peace when speaking on the one-year anniversary of the tragic U.S. Capitol riot.
“I believe the power and purpose of the presidency is to unite this nation, not divide it; to lift us up, not tear us apart; to be about us—about us, not’me,'” he stated. “Deep in the heart of America burns a flame lit nearly 250 years ago—of liberty, freedom, and equality.” This is not a land of monarchs, tyrants, or autocrats. We are a law-abiding people who value order over turmoil and peace over violence.”
Following the second anniversary of the January 6 riot, 53 percent of Americans believe a similar incident is either extremely likely or somewhat likely in the future.
Biden’s approval rating
Moreover, despite Biden’s appeals, more than half of Americans believe political polarisation would intensify throughout their lifetime. Furthermore, more than three-quarters of Americans believe that domestic political instability poses a greater threat than foreign foes.
The negative mindset of Americans extends beyond politics. Views of the economy remain overwhelmingly unfavourable, with nearly half of Americans (46%) expecting economic circumstances to worsen over the next year.
Furthermore, there has been a significant increase in the number of Americans who believe the country cannot fix many of its major problems, from 41% last year to 56% now.
Americans have become much more sceptical of the general public’s political knowledge. Approximately three-quarters of the population (76%) have little or no faith in the intelligence of the American people in making political decisions, up from 62% in 2021.
A recent Pew Research Centre survey of 5,079 members of the Center’s nationally representative American Trends Panel, conducted March 27-April 2, 2023, indicates that Biden’s job rating remains below 40%. Only 37% of those polled approve of his job performance, while 60% disapprove.
Americans fault news media for dividing nation
Meanwhile, when it comes to the liberal news media’s impact on democracy and political polarisation in the United States, Americans are more likely to believe it is causing more harm than good.
According to a new Associated Press poll, nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults believe the news media is growing political polarisation in the country, and just under half have little to no trust in the media’s ability to present the news fairly and honestly.
The poll found that while Americans are concerned about disinformation — and the role that the media, politicians, and social media corporations play in spreading it — many are also concerned about mounting risks to journalists’ safety.
This collapse in confidence may drive many Americans to abandon mainstream news sources in favour of social media and untrustworthy websites that distribute false information and can become partisan echo chambers, leading to increased polarisation.
While a narrow majority of Americans have some confidence in the liberal news media’s ability to convey the news fully and fairly, only 16% are very confident. 45 percent say they have little to no confidence in the future.
The survey reveals many Americans’ complicated relationship with the media: while the majority rate in-depth and investigative reporting as very helpful or extremely helpful for understanding the issues they care about, they are more likely to say they regularly scan the headlines rather than read an in-depth investigative article. While overall trust in the media is low, a majority of respondents believe the media does at least somewhat well in covering issues that are important to them.
American’s very divided
Four out of ten people believe the press is doing more to harm American democracy, while only around two out of ten believe the press is doing more to safeguard it. Another four in ten say neither applies.
According to Joe Salegna, a Republican from Long Island, New York, partisan news outlets and social media platforms have exacerbated the situation by teaching many Americans to view one another as enemies.
“I think it’s tearing this country apart,” Salegna, 50, said to the Associated Press. “I think it’s gotten a lot worse since the 2016 election.”
Republicans hold the news media in lower regard than Democrats, with 61% believing it harms democracy, compared to 23% of Democrats and 36% of independents who do not support either party. Majorities across party lines believe the news media causes political divisiveness, but Republicans are far more likely than Democrats to believe this occurs frequently.
More Republicans believe the news is heavily affected by the US government and journalists’ political opinions.
Coverage of recent presidential elections, the coronavirus pandemic, rallies against police deaths of Black Americans, and other incidents convinced Janis Fort that the media is untrustworthy. She claims that one network will cover a story that others will neglect, leaving viewers unsure who to believe.
“Everyone has a different story to share. “The media does nothing but instill fear,” said Fort, a 71-year-old retired Republican from Navarre, Florida. “Most of the people I know, including myself, feel completely in the dark.”
Media fragmentation
According to research, the fragmentation of the media ecosystem, mostly driven by the internet, has contributed to polarisation. Experts attribute America’s heightened political divisions to a variety of factors, including gerrymandering, which decreases political competition, and politicians who instill fear and distrust, but media fragmentation and misinformation are also playing a role.
“We should be concerned about the health of democracy,” said Joshua Tucker, a New York University political scientist who studies partisanship and co-directs NYU’s Centre for Social Media.
Concern about the threat posed by disinformation unifies Americans of both parties, with nearly nine out of ten U.S. adults stating that misinformation is a concern. Every day, one-third of American people say they encounter news with inaccurate claims made by politicians or misleading headlines.
“There is still good journalism, it’s just that the internet has made it so that anybody can be a quote-unquote journalist,” said Chris Nettell, a Democrat from Hickory Creek, Texas. “We have some news media that only targets a certain segment of society, and those people believe that because that’s all they read, everyone else believes it as well.”
Social media plays a significant role, with nearly two-thirds of respondents expecting an erroneous news report when they encounter it on social media. Those who claimed they get their news from social media on a regular basis were slightly more likely to believe it than others.
Spread of misinformation
Overall, around 6 in 10 believe the news media is to responsible for the spread of misinformation, and a comparable percentage believe it carries a significant degree of responsibility for resolving it. Majorities also believe that others, such as social media corporations and politicians, bear responsibility for both the propagation of disinformation and its prevention.
“So many people get their information from social media, and people believe whatever they want to believe,” said Araceli Cervantes, 39, a Republican mother of four from Chicago.
When it comes to defending press freedom in the United States, 44% of respondents feel the government is doing a good job, while 24% say it is doing a bad one. Most Americans are concerned about the safety of journalists, with nearly one-third stating they are very concerned or extremely concerned about attacks on the press.
The survey of 1,002 individuals was performed from March 30 to April 3 using a sample taken from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is intended to be representative of the U.S. population.
For all respondents, the margin of sampling error is 4.4 percentage points.
President-elect Donald Trump has named Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz, 42, his attorney general. This position doubles as the country’s top prosecutor and the director of the Department of Justice.
Trump announced the nominee in a post on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday, noting Matt Gaetz’s experience as a lawyer and member of the House Judiciary Committee.
He also stated that Gaetz’s nomination would be part of his strategy to rid the government of perceived opponents. Trump has frequently accused Democrats of “weaponizing” the Justice Department against him, a charge he reiterated in Wednesday’s statement.
Matt will halt weaponized government, secure our borders, dismantle criminal organizations, and restore Americans’ severely eroded faith and confidence in the Justice Department, Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Donald Trump has sent shockwaves across Washington by appointing former Democratic congressman Tulsi Gabbard as the new director of national intelligence.
The moves sparked quick criticism that the president-elect ignores qualifications to put his most fervent followers in charge of the country’s most important government agencies.
Even before Gaetz and Gabbard were named, Trump aroused eyebrows by naming Pete Hegseth, an army veteran and Fox News commentator, as his contender for defense secretary.
Trump has also made more conventional picks for prominent jobs, such as choosing Florida Senator Marco Rubio to be Secretary of State.
Gaetz’s planned appointment as attorney general comes as President Trump threatens to restructure the US Department of Justice in retaliation for criminal investigations and indictments initiated against him by federal prosecutors in recent years.
Tulsi Gabbard at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida.
Tulsi Gabbard was the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) Vice-Chair from 2013 to 2016 when she resigned to support Bernie Sanders for the Democratic presidential candidacy.
Tulsi is an Iraq War veteran and Army reservist. Three years ago, she received the rank of lieutenant colonel in the United States Army Reserve.
“As a former Candidate for the Democrat Presidential Nomination, she has broad support in both Parties – She is now a proud Republican!” According to Trump’s remarks.
“I am confident that Tulsi will bring the courageous attitude that has distinguished her remarkable career to our intelligence community, championing our constitutional rights and securing peace through strength. “Tulsi will make us all proud!”
Once confirmed, Tulsi Gabbard will advise Trump, the National Security Council, and the Homeland Security Council on national security issues.
US President-elect Donald Trump has picked Pete Hegseth, a decorated Army veteran and Fox News broadcaster, as his defense secretary. The announcement sent shockwaves across the Pentagon and defense industry.
Many in Washington expected the nominee to be a seasoned legislator or someone with defense policy experience. Trump’s choice of Hegseth caught them completely off guard.
In his first political post, 44-year-old Pete Hegseth will be in charge of the world’s most powerful military. He previously served in Afghanistan and Iraq.
When he announced his decision on Tuesday, Trump praised it as “tough, smart, and a true believer in America First.” He also emphasized the former soldier’s schooling at Princeton and Harvard institutions and his combat experience in Afghanistan and Iraq.
“With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice – our military will be great again, and America will never back down,” the president wrote on Facebook.
The president-elect also highlighted Hegseth’s work as a published novelist. He stated that The War on Warrior “reveals the leftwing betrayal of our warriors and how we must return our military to meritocracy, lethality, accountability, and excellence.”
Hegseth was a major in the Minnesota National Guard who worked as a prison guard in the Guantánamo Bay detention camp and Iraq and Afghanistan and has been an outspoken critic of what he calls “woke” policies inside the US military and its leadership.
“The dumbest phrase on planet earth in the military is our diversity is our strength,” Hegseth stated on a webcast last month.
One of his responsibilities as defense secretary could be to carry out Trump’s campaign vows to remove US generals accused of supporting progressive agendas within the military.
Trump stated that entrepreneur Elon Musk, another political novice, would help the administration decrease costs.
Trump’s government is taking shape following his victory in last week’s presidential election. Hegseth was part of a flurry of security appointments, including Trump’s selection of John Ratcliffe to lead the Central Intelligence Agency.
If confirmed by the US Senate, Hegseth will arrive at the Pentagon with decisions to make on topics such as military aid to Israel during its fight in Gaza and backing for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s invasion.
Trump wants the United States to distance itself from foreign conflicts in general. During the election campaign, he criticized the Biden administration’s spending to aid Ukraine.
Also on Tuesday, Trump stated that he wanted South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to play a key role as homeland security secretary. Trump appointed another military veteran, Michael Waltz, as national security advisor, which means he will counsel the president on international dangers.
According to sources at the BBC’s US partner CBS News, Senator Marco Rubio, who shares Waltz’s strong views on China, is anticipated to be Trump’s future secretary of state. However, the selection has not yet been verified.
Republicans have regained control of the Senate and the upper chamber of Congress and are closing in on a majority in the House and the lower chamber as vote counting continues.
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed optimism Tuesday about working with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, ramping up his rhetoric again by saying Canada has dealt with his trade threats before and can do so again.
Trudeau tried to play down possible retaliations by Trump over his past rhetoric, saying Trump’s trade threats are mostly aimed at China, and Canada has previously demonstrated a willingness to align with the United States against the Chinese if required.
Trudeau said that a concerted approach to Chinese trade and actions to address the country’s oppressive trade practices could help Canada win Trump’s favor.
For years, Trump has accused China of purposely weakening its currency and flooding the world with cheap items manufactured by low-wage workers, replacing American-made products and forcing jobs away.
The Trump administration is concerned about international pressures, particularly China’s overcapacity and unfair trade tactics. Canada is already aligned with the United States, and we can accomplish great things together,” Trudeau stated.
Trudeau’s allusion
Canada and the United States collaborated as “friends and partners” during Trump’s first term, “and we’re going to do that again,” Trudeau stated.
Trudeau’s allusion to being “aligned” with the Americans refers to Canada’s decision in August to join the US in imposing punishing tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles to preserve the country’s young EV industry.
As of October 1, Canada imposed a 100% surtax on Chinese-made EVs, doubling the cost of those imported vehicles and making them significantly less appealing to Canadian buyers.
According to a readout of Trudeau’s first contact with Trump since the election, the two discussed “addressing unfair trading practices in the global economy. While Canada and the United States agree on EVs, there may be difficulty with Mexico, the third member in the continental free trade agreement.
Trump has threatened to impose heavy tariffs on Mexico, with up to 200 percent levies on vehicles imported from the nation, to make it less appealing for automakers to build operations there.
In recent years, there has been a significant increase in automotive manufacturing in Mexico; most of that product is bound for the United States. Chinese EV manufacturer BYD has been seeking areas for a Mexican facility that may supply the US market.
“All I’m doing is saying… I’ll put a number where they can’t sell one car,” Trump said of Mexico in October about promised tariffs.
“I don’t want them hurting our car companies.”
Canada-U.S.-Mexico Trade Agreement
He has also threatened Mexico with high tariffs if it does not do more to stem the flow of migrants entering the United States. Kelly Craft, Trump’s former ambassador to Canada, has claimed the president-elect is also concerned about transshipments.
That is the practice of countries such as China shipping goods to Mexico so that they may be sold tariff-free in Canada and the United States under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Trade Agreement, which Trump renegotiated during his administration.
“There are manufacturers producing products for the U.S. and Canada in Mexico, and he wants to reduce that, he wants us to have indigenous manufacturing capability,” Craft said of Trump in an interview with Radio-Canada before last week’s presidential election.
Meanwhile, Ontario Premier Doug Ford expressed similar concerns Tuesday, suggesting that Canada and the United States should negotiate a future free trade agreement alone and exclude Mexico.
“Since signing on to the new NAFTA, Mexico has allowed itself to become a backdoor for Chinese cars, auto parts and other products into Canadian and American markets,” Ford told reporters.
“If Mexico won’t fight transshipment by, at the very least, matching Canadian and American tariffs on Chinese imports, they shouldn’t have a seat at the table or enjoy access to the largest economy in the world.”
Regarding Trump’s pledge to impose a minimum 10% tariff on all imports — a policy that could be applied to Canada — Trudeau said Tuesday that he is working to persuade the incoming president that the approach would be terrible for businesses and the workers they employ on both sides of the border.
During Trump’s first term, Canada was subjected to tariffs on steel and aluminum from the United States, which was an economically destructive policy. Canada replied with dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs, forcing the United States to back down.
Trudeau stated that if necessary, Canada may undertake this strategy again.
“We responded to tariffs he brought in with a demonstration that the interdependence of our economies means there are great jobs on both sides of the border that rely on the smooth flow of goods,” he told reporters. “That’s going to continue to be the case.”
However, trade experts believe that even the possibility of tariffs might be detrimental to Canada since it may cause corporations to reconsider investing here.
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