The United States is in danger because of growing insanity on the right. It is increasingly a politics that is irrational and authoritarian with no interest in the views of others and a fundamental disbelief in evidence. Evidence that runs counter to belief is dismissed as “fake news” and as part of a conspiracy to undermine their true values.
As a result of this rightwing insanity, political violence in the United States is at its highest level in fifty years. The news service Reuters identified 213 cases of political violence since the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. Two-thirds of these cases were physical assaults and one third were responsible for property damage. Eighteen resulted in fatalities. Of the 14 fatal political attacks since January 6, 13 were committed by self-proclaimed right-wing assailants. Violent threats also soared after Trump lost the 2020 election and claimed it was stolen.
Donald Trump symbolizes this rightwing insanity, but it goes much deeper than Trump and I don’t believe it would disappear if he left the political stage. It is fed by well-funded rightwing think tanks and media and manipulated by more traditional conservatives that use white populist fears for their own political and economic advantage.