It is a sad yet indisputable fact that, in recent memory, our nation has not been as politically and, yes, morally divided as it is today.
Nor is it a secret that the deep divisions are largely due to the way Americans view and react to the words and actions of one man, former President Donald J. Trump. The views and reactions are radically and perhaps irreconcilably different. Instead of one people within one nation, we have become two belligerent camps within our own borders.
While one side of the “great American divide” views Trump’s actions over the past few years as criminal, undemocratic and unconstitutional, the other side at best claims the allegations of wrongdoings are politically motivated — “election interference” — at worst celebrates them.
A microcosm of this national chasm was recently illustrated in a Washington Post interview of two Americans, both living in the Atlanta suburbs, yet inhabiting “opposite poles in a divided America.” It took place just after Trump’s third criminal indictment, this one for “multiple alleged crimes stemming from his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election,” including Trump’s “attempts to strong-arm Georgia officials.”
One of the Cobb County residents (a Vietnam Veteran), who “didn’t feel the need to learn the intricacies of the [45-page] case against Trump,” saw the indictment as “just another effort to tear down the country.” The Post quotes him, “They just dream stuff up…They just keep coming after him.”
The veteran, who walked with the angry crowd toward the Capitol on January 6 but did not join the protesters on the steps, claims he did not see any violence and blames any violence on “shadowy outside groups.”
The other Atlanta resident is a housewife and mother of two who abhors what Trump has done to this country. Reflecting on the possibility of Trump being convicted – an essential first step to fixing the problems — she says, “It’s important to me as a mom that my 16- and 14-year-old will see this one thing happen…Things will be improved when someone who has committed crimes in plain sight is held accountable.”
But she is also clear-eyed and believes that even if Trump is sent to prison the threat of Trumpism remains.
Reactions to Trump’s indictment, this week’s Republican presidential debate and Thursday’s arrest, fingerprinting and mug-shot-taking of the former President at the Fulton County Jail have only served to deepen and crystallize the division between the two camps.
Just look at some of the headlines and commentary by various media and public figures surrounding these events.
Democrats’ reaction to the fourth indictment was quite muted and civil. For example, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a joint statement, “The fourth indictment of Donald Trump, just like the three which came before it, portrays a repeated pattern of criminal activity by the former president.”
On the other hand, Republican officials and Trump supporters minced no words to show their outrage, fake or genuine. Terms such as “desperate sham,” “blatant election interference,” “weaponizing the government,” “sickening” along with the popular “partisan witch hunt” were generously thrown around.
Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), called the indictment “garbage,” “Trump Derangement” and “pearl clutching” by elite Democrats.
Even has-been Sarah Palin piped in calling the rule of law a “travesty,” a “two-tier system of justice,” flippantly asking “What the heck, do you do want us to be in civil war?…We’re not going to keep putting up with this.”
The former president himself has orchestrated a barrage of derogatory, vile, and racist attacks on judges, prosecutors, witnesses and on anyone who would dare to speak the truth. Most blatant have been his salacious slurs about Fulton County, Ga., District Attorney Fani Willis, even mentioned in one of Trump’s campaign ads.
Two headlines about Wednesday’s GOP presidential debate illustrate how far apart the two camps are.
The Wall Street Journal called the presidential debate “A Very Good Republican Presidential Debate.”
On the other hand, David Kurtz at Talking Points Memo called it “The Most Unsettling Presidential Debate Spectacle Ever.”
The reactions to Trump’s now-infamous mug shot perhaps sum up best the divide. A mug shot that TIME describes as follows:
His platinum blonde cotton candy wisp of hair shimmers in the harsh jailhouse lighting. His eyes are locked in a hard stare. His mouth is flattened in a grimace. Instead of smiling like some of his co-defendants, he appears to be scowling.
While most people would consider having one’s mug shot taken at a county jail embarrassing, if not shameful, Trump’s supporters have elevated the mugshot to a badge of honor status and “are fundraising off of Trump mug shot merchandise,” as are some “on the other side of the political divide”:
• Reuters: Divided US embraces Trump mug shot merchandise.
• NBC News: Trump’s mug shot fuels liberal delight and GOP fundraising — and becomes an instant American political relic.
• ABC News: Donald Trump’s campaign using mug shot in fundraising push.
• Silicon Valley: Trump Jr. immediately began hawking dad’s mug shot on T-shirts as image becomes cultural sensation.
• DC Enquirer: Mugshot Deemed ‘The Most Iconic Photo In The History Of US Politics’ By Allies And Critics Alike.
• New York Post: Trump campaign already selling merch featuring his mug shot — including $34 T-shirts.
Perhaps the most neutral comment on Trump’s mug shot comes from the DC Enquirer:
Trump’s mug shot will be viewed by millions if not billions of people in the coming years. It will define American politics for the next decade and go down in history as one of the most important photographs in American political history. Long before Donald Trump departs this Earth, the striking image will continue to resonate across the globe.
