We were sitting in the back of his Trump truck earlier this week when he made the prediction. “I think that’s the only thing that’s going to bring America back after this election, if we lose.” Civil War? When I moved to America a year ago, I remember people expressing this fear. I remember thinking they were crazy. How could anyone believe that the “world’s greatest democracy,” as it is sometimes fondly described, could be headed for civil war? Image: Mark Stone talks with Zach Scherer and Corey Check I have reported from many failed or failing states over the years. It seemed foolish to suggest that the United States of America could be among them. Well, a year later, my view is changing and I am deeply concerned. Armies and front lines are not formed in the traditional sense. But make no mistake, there are armies and there are fronts. The rifts are alarmingly deep. It would be a mistake to think that America can simply muddle its way through this turning point in its history. Recent polls show that a growing number of Americans believe that political violence is acceptable. Just last week the husband of the nation’s third highest ranking politician, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was attacked in their home. Police say he was the target. On the same day as the attack, authorities warned that threats of violence against politicians nationwide had increased massively. The nation is bitterly divided, and there’s one thing that’s causing that turmoil — about a third of voting-age people in this country believe the 2020 election was stolen. They think Donald Trump won. Doubt is being sown into the fabric of American society If you spent the last two years thinking that this was a fringe opinion expressed by a former president. a drawback that can now be dismissed as background noise, think again. Doubt has been sown into the fabric of American society. People have been deceived. They reject the institutions on which American democracy was built. They have been told not to trust their electoral process. Back in the truck, Mr. Scherer’s friend, Corey Check, was angry. These two young disciples of Mr. Trump firmly believe that the election was stolen by Joe Biden and the “radical left woke up.” “Everything. Everything is at stake. America is at stake. If we lose it, our country will go to hell…” Mr. Check said. Image: This group of Republicans all thought Donald Trump was the rightful winner in 2020 Believers still believe Trump won Frightened by their harsh predictions, I sought out a different generation of Republicans hoping for a more measured, nuanced perspective. Local activist Cindy Hilderbrand had invited me to meet a group of six friends and activists at the local Republican headquarters. My first question – how many of them thought Mr. Trump was the rightful winner in 2020? All their hands went up. “I absolutely won,” said retired Airman Garcia. He was interrupted by another on the team, Cheryl Guenther: “… and it wasn’t just the election day shenanigans. It was everything leading up to this. The media is nothing more than a democratic arm that helps suppress all of this of the information”. To be clear, there is absolutely no evidence that the 2020 election was rigged. Audits, recounts and court cases in states across the country concluded that nothing had happened to change the outcome of the election. Mr. Biden won by a wide margin. Even Trump’s closest associates and family said he lost. However, he persists and his followers believe him. Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 0:30 Golfer Trump mocks White House successor Biden Conspiracy theories spread faster than facts Our discussion turns to policy issues. On abortion, on crime, on drugs, on guns, on the economy, everyone has perfectly legitimate conservative views. Broadly speaking – abortion is wrong, crime and drugs are out of control, gun control is unconstitutional, and the struggling economy is Mr. Biden’s fault. But here’s the problem. They believe they are failing to get their way on these policy issues not because the majority disagrees with them but because a minority stole the last election from them. American society is reduced to echo chambers. They consume wildly partisan cable news, believe nonsense on social media and reject factual reporting. Conspiracy theories spread faster than facts. Image: “I think there is a real threat to democracy,” Ryan says The threat to democracy was “underestimated”. Not far away, at a rally for the local Democratic candidate, I spoke with a young Democratic Party voter, a man about the same age as Mr. Scherer and Mr. Check, but with a different perspective. Was this idea of a threat to democracy overstated, I asked. “I think it might be underrated. I think there’s a real threat to democracy in this country and it really scares the hell out of me,” Ryan told me. “I don’t want to end up like what we have seen in Europe in the past. If we don’t learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it and we have to support democracy to continue, otherwise we will also falter. I am worried.” Click to subscribe to Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts As America heads to the polls for this midterm takeover of the country’s direction, the anger and division cannot be overstated. Reflecting on all the conversations I’ve had, it’s shaky and confusing. There is so much going on. so many issues and there is absolutely no trust for the other side. There is anger and a sense of betrayal but I also felt fear. There’s a real sense that Americans on all sides don’t know what’s coming next or how to react to it.
