Republicans and Democrats can agree on one thing, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll — Democracy in the U.S. is under threat. A recent survey found that 67 percent of respondents believe democracy is in danger. That total included 70 percent registered Republican voters and 72 percent of Democrats.
The poll results were published just ahead of President Joe Biden’s recent primetime speech the White House deemed a ‘battle for the soul of the nation.’ In the speech, Biden blasted Donald Trump and his ‘MAGA allies’ for what he described as undermining the nation’s democracy.
Meanwhile, Trump has been accusing Biden of politicizing the FBI in an attempt to knock him out of the 2024 election before he even announces his candidacy. The public has perceived the back-and-forth between the right and left as a threat to our democracy.
“In a rare moment of agreement, Americans coalesce around an ominous concern. Democracy, the bedrock of our nation, is in peril,” said Tim Malloy, Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst. The poll surveyed 1,584 adults and found that the percentage of Americans who worry about democracy has increased nine points since January.
The Quinnipiac poll reflects a recent NBC News poll that revealed how respondents see threats to democracy as the most critical issue the country is facing. Twenty-one percent of respondents ranked threats to democracy as the key issue facing the U.S., ahead of 16 percent who said the cost of living and 14 percent who put the economy and jobs as the top issues.
Biden’s rhetoric offered a preview of his primetime speech
“When we talk about our democracy, when we talk about our freedoms, the way that he sees it is the MAGA Republicans are the most energized part of the Republican Party,” Karine Jean-Pierre, White House Press Secretary, said a day before President Biden’s speech. “This is an extreme threat to our democracy, to our freedom, to our rights.”
The president has put the state of democracy at the forefront of the Democrat party’s campaign to hold the majority in both the Senate and House in the November midterms.
During a recent fundraiser in Maryland, Biden condemned an ‘extreme MAGA philosophy — referring to former President Donald Trump and his Make America Great Again movement — as ‘almost like semi-fascism.’ In a different statement, the president called attacks on the FBI by supporters of Trump ‘sickening.’
President Biden’s rhetoric has angered Republicans, who accused him of vilifying millions of voters who want a say in their government. During a morning broadcast appearance House, Republican leader Kevin McCarthy accused Biden of attempting to distract from economic woes, including crippling inflation.
“The problem with Joe Biden is he does not understand the soul of America,” McCarthy said during an appearance on Fox and Friends. “Tens of millions of hardworking, law-abiding citizens that he vilifies, that simply want to have a say in their kids’ education, to go to a school board meeting, want a gasoline price that they can afford, no longer wants inflation to continue to rise, afraid to go out in the streets to be safe again. They want a stronger, safer, more prosperous America, and all he does is vilify them to distract from the disasters.”
