"Threats to our country": why the White House announced a deep split in the United States

The key task for the United States is to "put things in order at home."

This was stated by the adviser to the head of the White House on national security Jake Sullivan.

Speaking at an online seminar hosted by the Washington Institute for Peace and the Atlantic Council *, he recalled Joe Biden's words that "foreign policy is inherently linked to domestic policy and vice versa."

“Ultimately, the biggest challenge facing the United States right now is to put things in order at home, to do an internal renovation,” Sullivan said.

He added that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the population, and the economic crisis is devastating both large and small businesses and working families.

• White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan

• © REUTERS / Joshua Roberts

“And, of course, we are talking about acute threats to our country as a constitutional republic, which only intensify the deep split within the state.

Therefore, when it comes to priority and strategy, for me they kind of coincide - in the sense that we need to put ourselves in a strong position to cope with the world's problems, ”Sullivan said.

"Tool for enrichment"

Commenting on Sullivan's words, experts, in turn, remind that contradictions in American society began to grow after Barack Obama's victory in the 2008 presidential election.

“He became the first African American to lead the White House.

This shocked part of American society, right-wing organizations became more active, and even supporters of the Ku Klux Klan appeared.

Trump's victory took the split to a new level.

And the last elections institutionalized it, "Vladimir Vasiliev, chief researcher at the Institute of the USA and Canada of the Russian Academy of Sciences, explained in an interview with RT.

• © REUTERS / Caitlin Ochs

He stressed that the preconditions for such problems were formed long before Obama's rule: after the collapse of the USSR, the contradictions that were previously in the background because of the Cold War intensified in the United States.

“Many Americans believed that after ending the confrontation with their enemy, the country would take up its own problems.

But instead, the American leadership decided to rebuild the whole world.

It was this moment that caused the split, the Americans were divided into economic nationalists and globalists, ”Vasiliev said.

Konstantin Blokhin, a researcher at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, adheres to a similar point of view.

In an interview with RT, he explained that the social split was mainly the result of the foreign and domestic political mistakes of the American elite, which was trying to maintain the global dominance of the United States.

“The country is now divided into Biden supporters and Trump supporters.

We can say that American society is at the red line, on the verge of civil conflict, ”the expert said.

At the same time, political scientists note that the majority of American citizens are well aware of the situation in the country now.

According to a survey conducted by the Associated Press and the University of Chicago's NORC poll in October 2020, US citizens believe the nation is divided.

Thus, 85% of respondents admitted that a split exists along the line of key values.

At the same time, 34% of citizens believe that over the next few years, internal differences will be smoothed out, and 33% - that the situation will continue.

Search for "internal terrorists"

It is worth noting that Joe Biden, who won the presidential election, devoted his inaugural speech to the topic of disuniting the nation.

Biden ranked as the main problems the country is facing and with which it is necessary to fight "the aggravation of political extremism, ideology of white supremacy, internal terrorism."

To overcome all this, "to revive the soul and protect the future of America" ​​will require "to achieve the most elusive thing in democracy", namely unity, said the 46th US President.

“We are now experiencing a historic moment of crisis and difficulties, and unity is our way forward,” he stressed.

• Joe Biden at the inauguration

• © REUTERS / Joshua Roberts

At the same time, the politician did not fail to harshly criticize those who stormed the Capitol, calling them "internal terrorists".

Recall that the events of January 6 caused a wide resonance in American society, when supporters of former US President Donald Trump burst into the Capitol building.

During the clashes between protesters and law enforcement officers, five people were killed and dozens were injured.

The incident was preceded by a rally at which Trump gathered his supporters.

On this day, Congress was supposed to finally approve the results of the presidential election and Biden's victory.

However, Trump refused to recognize the vote and continued to report fraud.

During a rally in Washington, the politician repeated these accusations and urged the audience to peacefully proceed to the Capitol building, but the procession quickly escalated into riots.

These events served as a gadfly for Democrats in Congress to impeach Trump.

Congressmen accused the politician of organizing the riots.

The House of Representatives approved the resolution on Trump's early resignation.

The Senate did not have time to vote on this issue before the 45th head of the White House expired.

However, at the end of January, the US Senate confirmed the constitutionality of Trump's impeachment proceedings despite the fact that he is no longer president.

It should be noted that Trump, in turn, has also repeatedly called his radical opponents "terrorists" and called for tough measures against them.

So, commenting on the unrest that gripped the country in August 2020, Trump declared the need to use force against the protesters.

"The only way to stop violence in crime-ridden cities under the leadership of Democrats is to show strength!"

- then he wrote on Twitter.

They talked, in particular, about the events in Portland (Oregon), where at the end of summer a conflict broke out between the ultra-right and anti-fascists.

Trump then fiercely criticized the latter and said that "the possibility of recognizing the antifa as a terrorist organization is being considered."

• Summer 2020 riots in Portland

• © REUTERS / Maranie Staab

Prior to that, in July 2020, Trump did compare the protesters not only with terrorists, but also with fascists who were "defeated" by the Americans.

“We are now working to defeat the radical left, Marxists, anarchists, instigators, marauders and those who in many cases have no idea what they are doing,” said the Republican.

Analysts say Trump most likely was referring to the protests against police brutality and racial inequality that began in May.

Recall that the reason for these actions was the death of the African American George Floyd after he was detained by the police.

The video of the incident hit the Internet and caused a wave of indignation in society.

A number of American cities were gripped by the protests, which protested under the slogan Black Lives Matter ("Black lives matter").

"There is no talk of unity"

Experts note that the current socio-political divisions in the United States concern a wide range of issues.

So, in the first days as President of the United States, Joe Biden signed 15 decrees, half of which canceled the decisions of his predecessor.

In particular, Biden restored US membership in the World Health Organization, obligations under the Paris Climate Agreement, and also lifted the state of emergency on the border with Mexico.

The new American leader also stopped funding for one of Trump's key projects - the construction of a wall on the Mexican border.

At the same time, political scientists are skeptical about Joe Biden's promises to unite the nation and note that, in practice, his steps may contribute to a further split.

“American politicians often play one part of the population against another for populist reasons.

So far, there is no talk of any unity.

And this is a direct consequence of the activities of the American elites, who did not even try to eliminate social inequality and solve racial problems.

Instead, the public's attention was diverted to the external opponents of the United States, ”Blokhin explained.

This opinion is shared by Vladimir Vasiliev.

“Biden’s first steps as president only exacerbated the split.

Now the situation in the United States resembles the events of 1860, when the election of Lincoln provoked a civil war.

Unfortunately, current problems can only be solved by donating something.

If Americans want to return to the good old days, as they did in the 19th century, then they need to abandon their ambitions to create a new global world order.

But in the United States, no one knows the answer to the question of how to actually act.

Therefore, internal disagreements will only grow, ”predicted Vasiliev.

*

 "Atlantic Council" (Atlantic Council of the United States) - an organization whose activities are recognized as undesirable on the territory of the Russian Federation by the decision of the General Prosecutor's Office of 25.07.2019