America will celebrate the 250th anniversary of its independence on July 4 this year with numerous events. Early celebrations will begin on Memorial Day on May 25, including a mixed martial arts competition at the White House lawn on June 14. But the fireworks and parades cannot mask the political divide that cuts deep through the country.
Donald Trump has been president for just one year of his second term, but he has effectively created two Americas. One is obediently loyal to him, bowing to his every whim. The other fights against what it considers Trump’s excesses by using protests, court challenges, and other legal means available. It is an uphill battle because US presidents have immense power. Trump’s Republican Party also controls both houses of Congress with slim majorities.
America’s two-party system means presidential elections are historically a contest between the Republican and Democratic Parties. Independent candidates are rare. Newly elected presidents traditionally pledge to serve all Americans, including those who voted against them. But Trump has shown little interest in reconciling the deeply divided country he fueled and now governs.
He astonished many Americans when he spoke at the memorial service for far-right activist and Trump supporter Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated last September at the age of 31. Kirk’s widow Erika said at the service that she forgave her husband’s alleged killer, Tyler Robinson, who has no clear political affiliation. But Trump said at the service that he hated his political opponents and didn’t want the best for them.
It is stunning for a US president to publicly say he hates all Americans who oppose the way he is governing the country. The US media would have castigated other presidents for such a remark. Right-wing media would have launched a prolonged attack against any Democrat president for saying he hated his opponents. Trump’s comment barely made the news because the media has now accepted that even his most outrageous remarks are normal for him.
But Trump’s America has reached a tipping point, triggered by nationwide outrage over the recent gunning down of two US citizens by Immigration and Customs Enforcement – or ICE – agents in Minneapolis. ICE and some of Trump’s top cabinet members accused the two, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both aged 37 and who had protested the ICE presence in Minneapolis, of being domestic terrorists.
Trump, whose approval ratings are at historic lows, toned down his rhetoric last week and replaced the top ICE official in Minneapolis – who had taken a hardline approach against protesters – with another official to discuss easing the anger with Minnesota’s leaders.
But Trump’s attempt to lower the temperature under intense pressure even from Republican Party leaders is unlikely to bolster his dismal ratings. The outrage over the ICE killings of US citizens is just one issue. Americans are also angry over the affordability crisis and the brutal ICE methods to deport immigrants. Polls show the Democrats will regain at least one house of Congress in the November mid-term elections.
Michael Chugani is a longtime journalist who has worked in Hong Kong, the US, and London
