Over the next few days, the results of the tumultuous US elections will be finally announced to the world. The past few years have been extremely rocky as far as American politics is concerned. Both the Republicans and Democrats have run extremely aggressive and polarising campaigns targeting each other in every worst way possible. The venom and hate present in American politics at the moment is threatening to drive permanent fissures into the society at large.
The two parties have been on a warpath for the past decade. Politics aside, the two camps have hurled the nastiest abuse and accusation possible at each other, deepening the ever-growing national divide.
Since the 2014 election victory of Donald Trump, the USA has seen its politics become hyper-polarized. The two parties that were once vying for political and administrative power, now seem to be more focused on damaging each other.
The Gender Divide
The public has been torn into becoming extremely tribalistic, with unquestioned loyalties towards their leaders. Infighting and clashes due to opposing political views have become a norm. Friends and families have been at odds over their ideological leanings.
Aside from the families, in households, both genders are currently at odds with each other. The demographics are extremely skewed for each candidate. Donald Trump with his wit, sarcasm, and free-enterprise ideas has a strong male voter base. While Kamala Harris who is looking to be the first female President of the country understandably enjoys great backing from the women voters.
Polling ahead of the 2024 race shows signs that the gender divide has widened even further, as Trump continues to make strong gains among men while losing even more ground with women. The most recent New York Times/Siena College poll in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin revealed that 55 percent of registered men support Trump compared to just 39 percent of women — a staggering 16-point difference. Most of the polls conducted show similar results.
In sharp contrast, with the Democrats opting for a female of mixed heritage, Kamala Harris, the divide seems to have been exacerbated further. Women are backing Harris at significantly higher rates than they did for even President Biden. A recent poll of likely voters showed a 6-point difference in female support for Biden over Trump (49 percent to 43 percent) which has now been doubled under Harris, who leads nationally by 12 points among likely women voters.
The gender gap has become more pronounced due to the raging debates over the importance of abortion rights. Abortion is one of the prime issues for the American female voter, with 23 percent of women listing it as “the most important issue in deciding their vote in November”.
The Republican vote base is largely religious, Christian, and anti-abortion. The Democrat vote base is more liberal with people from a variety of backgrounds, most of whom back abortion rights for women. Trump has a strong male Christian Vote base and hence will be reluctant to back liberal abortion rights. This gives a stark advantage to Harris as many young women regardless of ideology will be inclined to back the candidate with a more Liberal abortion rights leaning.
War of Words During the Campaign
The two sides have been ramping up tensions constantly. Trump with his snarky rhetoric regularly gets under the skin of many Democrat leaders. Many of whom respond as aggressively. Recently President Joe Biden took a jibe at Republican voters, calling Trump supporters “garbage”.
The comments from Biden, were in response to a comedian opening for a Trump rally calling Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” — the comment drew widespread condemnation and triggered backlash among the Latino populace. Biden responded that the only ones garbage are Trump supporters.
Trump and his allies seized on Biden’s gaffe to argue that the Democrats are not a party for all Americans, especially those who do not vote for their candidates. Trump made sure to drive the point home by swapping his suit jacket for a reflective orange vest. The former President drove in, in a garbage truck dressed as a sanitation worker.
In another controversy Trump had allegedly admired the loyalty of Hitler’ generals. Harris responded to those reports claiming that she believes Trump is a fascist and that “the people who know him best on this subject should be trusted.”
Trump responded in kind by saying, “They (Democrats) use that word (Nazi) really, it’s both words. ‘He’s Hitler.’ And then they say, ‘He’s a Nazi. I’m not a Nazi,” Trump said. “I’m the opposite of a Nazi.” Trump also responded to Harris calling him a fascist by saying, “She’s a fascist, OK? She’s a fascist.”
Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, dived into the controversy claiming that there was “a direct parallel” between Trump’s wild Madison Square Garden rally and the notorious 1939 gathering of Nazi supporters at the landmark arena in New York City. “And don’t think that he doesn’t know for one second exactly what they’re doing there,” Walz said.
Trump’s running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, complained about the comparisons. “They decided to compare us to literal Nazis for gathering in Madison Square Garden and celebrating the United States of America. These are the same people, of course, who call us racist for wanting to secure the southern border. They’re the same people who have no plans, no ideas and no solutions. All they have is hatred of their fellow citizens,” Vance said.
Targeting Donald Trump
The verbal vitriol aside, the campaign has also been marred by the constant targeting of Trump on a personal level. No stone has been left unturned in going after the Republican nominee. Under the Biden administration Donald Trump became the first former president in American history to be charged with either state or federal crimes, with four separate indictments issued between March and August of 2023.
The former President has been subjected to intense investigations with a potential sentencing on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in New York. He is tentatively scheduled to be sentenced on November 26, three weeks after Election Day.
Then there is the case of election interference also on the horizon. The case, which charges Trump with conspiracy to defraud the United States for illegally trying to overturn the 2020 election results, was initially slated to go to trial earlier this year but was paused for several months while the Supreme Court weighed Trump’s arguments that he was mostly protected from allegations of wrongdoing because of presidential immunity.
Then there are also cases that won’t be affected by the election results, they are pending appeals of civil judgments against Trump totaling more than $500 million. The former President is appealing the largest award, more than $478 million and growing by more than $111,000 a day — in a civil fraud case in New York state court.
To the onlooker it seems rather apparent that the former President is being specifically targeted by his political opponents. He has been subject to a barrage of legal and financial quagmires while under a structured media campaign intent on villainizing him. Trump has only recently returned from his social media exiles imposed upon him by most of the Big tech companies.
The constant dehumanizing campaigns against Trump have also resulted in assassination attempts on the former President. The most dangerous one occurred on July 13, when Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. the shots ended up missing its target by millimeters, injuring the former president’s ear in the process. Crooks was shot dead when Secret Service officials returned fire. The shooter ended up hitting and killing a rally attender, who was standing in the audience behind Trump.
The most recent confirmed assassination attempt on Trump’s life was on September 13, 2024, when Ryan Wesley Routh broke into Trump International Golf Club and staked out for several hours before Trump appeared to play golf. Despite carrying a rifle with him, Routh was unable to take a shot at the former president as Secret Service guards spotted him in bushes by the side of the course. He was taken into custody after being chased from the grounds. The FBI later found a note in his home confirming his intention to kill Trump.
These shocking events clearly indicate that USA is witnessing a kind of political polarization it has not encountered before. Previously, American politics have been largely cordial and business like. With suited leaders having civil discussions and debates, and accepting their roles post the results. But ever since the arrival of Donald Trump in the political scene, America has witnessed a new kind of personal vitriol. The frustrations of the Democrats have also burst forth, with their leaders targeting Trump and his supporters regularly. Trump’s direct speeches, his blunt attacks on his opponents, coupled with his massive popularity have left the Democrat party seething. They have resorted to dehumanizing campaigns against Trump and his voter base. This polarization has led to massive fissures among the citizens. The public on both ends of the political divide are incensed and believe they are being wronged by the opposite party.
Trump and his fellow Republicans have regularly pointed out that mass level voter fraud is possible to keep Trump out of power. The former President had indicated the same post the 2020 results. Both sides feel the other is using unfair advantages, and is trying to suppress the other. The agendas and voter base of both parties are on complete opposite ends. No matter the results of the 2024 election, one thing is for certain, the fissures in American society are only going to get deeper. Whether it is Donald Trump or Kamala Harris whoever ends up in power, will not be accepted by the other as their President. How much damage this turmoil will cause to the USA in the long run, only time will tell.
