When they were asked to identify America’s greatest enemy, almost 40% of American voters believe that domestic political parties constitute the biggest adversarial forces.
According to a Rasmussen poll, 25% of likely United States voters believe China is America’s greatest foe. Similarly, 20% believe Russia is America’s biggest enemy.
By contrast, 22% of voters said Democrats are America’s biggest enemy, with 17% saying Republicans are the greatest enemy. Curiously, these figures are significantly higher than North Korea (5%) and Iran (2%), which the DC foreign policy blob views as major enemies.
This is not a new development. For perspective, in 2020, 24% of voters believed Biden voters were the greatest enemies of America, while 22% viewed Trump voters as the principal enemy.
Currently, 33% of Republicans believe Democrats are America’s largest enemy whereas 26% of Democrats perceive Republicans as the primary foe. 39% of independent voters view either Democrats (21%) or Republicans (18%) as America’s primary foe.
Democrats are more likely to view Russia (31%) than China (16%) as America’s largest foe. Republicans on the other hand, view China (35%) as the biggest enemy, while only 12% who hold the same belief about Russia. Among independent voters, the biggest enemy is China (26%) and Russia (15%).
Among women voters, 26% view China as America’s biggest foe. Women voters perceive Russia and Republicans as the biggest enemy at the same rate (20%). Only 18% have labeled Democrats as the biggest enemy. 27% of men view Democrats as America’s biggest enemy, which is followed by China (24%), Russia (19%) and Republicans (15%).
Voters below the age of 40 are most likely to view Russia (28%) as America’s primary foe. On the other hand, older voters are more likely to view China as America’s largest enemy.
White voters (28%) are more likely than black voters (15%) or other non-white minorities (23%) to view China as America’s largest enemy.
Voters making over $200,000 annually are most likely to view Republicans as America’s biggest enemy. On the other hand, individuals making between $50,000 and $100,000 annually are more likely to view China as America’s primary biggest foe.
While neocon and neoliberal interventionists are looking for monsters abroad to slay, there are some serious internal divisions present in the US. The interesting part is that the ruling class likely believes that by rallying around an interventionist campaign against Russia and China, the American populace can put aside its differences and rally around a common cause.
The problem here is that there are numerous irreconcilable differences present in the US that make it next to impossible to build political solidarity. Perhaps it may be time for policymakers to consider the rational alternative of separatism to allay political tensions.