Latest news with #politicaldivide
Wall Street Journal
2 days ago
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
Gerrymandering by Both Parties Is Deepening America's Political Divide
America's identity as a unified nation is eroding, with Republican- and Democratic-led states dividing into separate spheres, each with its own policies governing the economic, social and political rules of life. The bitter fight over redrawing U.S. House maps, triggered by President Trump's effort to protect his party's majority in the 2026 midterm elections, is the latest example of how the dominant party in many states is making extraordinary efforts to impose its will.
Arab News
6 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Gaza war deepens Israel's divides
TEL AVIV: As it grinds on well into its twenty-second month, Israel's war in Gaza has set friends and families against one another and sharpened existing political and cultural divides. Hostage families and peace activists want Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to secure a ceasefire with Hamas and free the remaining captives abducted during the October 2023 Hamas attacks. Right-wing members of Netanyahu's cabinet, meanwhile, want to seize the moment to occupy and annex more Palestinian land, at the risk of sparking further international criticism. The debate has divided the country and strained private relationships, undermining national unity at Israel's moment of greatest need in the midst of its longest war. 'As the war continues we become more and more divided,' said Emanuel Yitzchak Levi, a 29-year-old poet, schoolteacher and peace activist from Israel's religious left who attended a peace meeting at Tel Aviv's Dizengoff Square. 'It's really hard to keep being a friend, or family, a good son, a good brother to someone that's — from your point of view — supporting crimes against humanity,' he told AFP. 'And I think it's also hard for them to support me if they think I betrayed my own country.' As if to underline this point, a tall, dark-haired cyclist angered by the gathering pulled up his bike to shout 'traitors' at the attendees and to accuse activists of playing into Hamas's hands. Dvir Berko, a 36-year-old worker at one of the city's many IT startups, paused his scooter journey across downtown Tel Aviv to share a more reasoned critique of the peace activists' call for a ceasefire. Berko and others accused international bodies of exaggerating the threat of starvation in Gaza, and he told AFP that Israel should withhold aid until the remaining 49 hostages are freed. 'The Palestinian people, they're controlled by Hamas. Hamas takes their food. Hamas starts this war and, in every war that happens, bad things are going to happen. You're not going to send the other side flowers,' he argued. 'So, if they open a war, they should realize and understand what's going to happen after they open the war.' The raised voices in Tel Aviv reflect a deepening polarization in Israeli society since Hamas's October 2023 attacks left 1,219 people dead, independent journalist Meron Rapoport told AFP. Rapoport, a former senior editor at liberal daily Haaretz, noted that Israel had been divided before the latest conflict, and had even seen huge anti-corruption protests against Netanyahu and perceived threats to judicial independence. Hamas's attack initially triggered a wave of national unity, but as the conflict has dragged on and Israel's conduct has come under international criticism, attitudes on the right and left have diverged and hardened. 'The moment Hamas acted there was a coming together,' Rapoport said. 'Nearly everyone saw it as a just war. 'As the war went on it has made people come to the conclusion that the central motivations are not military reasons but political ones.' According to a survey conducted between July 24 and 28 by the Institute for National Security Studies, with 803 Jewish and 151 Arab respondents, Israelis narrowly see Hamas as primarily to blame for the delay in reaching a deal on freeing the hostages. Only 24 percent of Israeli Jews are distressed or 'very distressed' by the humanitarian situation in Gaza — where, according to UN-mandated reports, 'a famine is unfolding' and Palestinian civilians are often killed while seeking food. But there is support for the families of the Israeli hostages, many of whom have accused Netanyahu of prolonging the war artificially to strengthen his own political position. 'In Israel there's a mandatory army service,' said Mika Almog, 50, an author and peace activist with the It's Time Coalition. 'So these soldiers are our children and they are being sent to die in a false criminal war that is still going on for nothing other than political reasons.' In an open letter published Monday, 550 former top diplomats, military officers and spy chiefs urged US President Donald Trump to tell Netanyahu that the military stage of the war was already won and he must now focus on a hostage deal. 'At first this war was a just war, a defensive war, but when we achieved all military objectives, this war ceased to be a just war,' said Ami Ayalon, former director of the Shin Bet security service. The conflict 'is leading the State of Israel to lose its security and identity,' he warned in a video released to accompany the letter. This declaration by the security officers — those who until recently prosecuted Israel's overt and clandestine wars — echoed the views of the veteran peace activists that have long protested against them. Biblical archaeologist and kibbutz resident Avi Ofer is 70 years old and has long campaigned for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. He and fellow activists wore yellow ribbons with the length in days of the war written on it: '667.' The rangy historian was close to tears as he told AFP: 'This is the most awful period in my life.' 'Yes, Hamas are war criminals. We know what they do. The war was justified at first. At the beginning it was not a genocide,' he said. Not many Israelis use the term 'genocide,' but they are aware that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is considering whether to rule on a complaint that the country has breached the Genocide Convention. While only a few are anguished about the threat of starvation and violence hanging over their neighbors, many are worried that Israel may become an international pariah — and that their conscript sons and daughters be treated like war crimes suspects when abroad. Israel and Netanyahu — with support from the United States — have denounced the case in The Hague.
New York Times
21-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
James Carville: This Is How Democrats Win the Midterms
Constipated. Leaderless. Confused. A cracked-out clown car. Divided. These are the words I hear my fellow Democrats using to describe our party as of late. The truth is they're not wrong: The Democratic Party is in shambles. Zohran Mamdani's victory in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary wasn't an isolated event. It represents an undeniable fissure in our political soul. We are divided along generational lines: Candidates like Mr. Mamdani are impatient for an economic future that folks my age are skeptical can actually be delivered. We are divided along ideological lines: A party that is historically allegiant to the state of Israel is at odds with a growing faction that will not look past the abuses in Palestine. From Medicare for All purists to Affordable Care Act reformists, the list goes on and on. The Democratic Party is steamrolling toward a civilized civil war. It's necessary to have it. It's even more necessary to delay it. The only thing that can save us now is an actual savior, because a new party can be delivered only by a person — see Barack Obama in 2008 and Bill Clinton in 1992. No matter how many podcasts or influencer streams our bench of candidates go on, our new leader won't arrive until the day after the midterms in November 2026, which marks the unofficial-yet-official beginning of the 2028 presidential primary. No new party or candidate has a chance for a breakthrough until that day. Until then, we must run unified in opposition to the Republicans to gain as many House seats as possible in the midterms, because every congressional seat we gain in 2026 means we will be more likely to bring about change in 2028. And there's good news on that front. There's plenty of tantalizing political scandal surrounding the president right now. But issues of moral or ethical concern are almost always more powerful when they're self-inflicted. Let President Trump Rope-A-Dope with MAGA on the Jeffrey Epstein case, and don't get in the way. Instead, the midterms will, like all elections, be decided largely based on issues that affect Americans' everyday lives. This time around, we don't have to run with a shred of nuance when it comes to kitchen table issues: Mr. Trump's 'big, beautiful' domestic policy law is a big, steaming doggy nugget of epic proportion, contemptible to a vast majority of the nation. According to a new CNN poll, over 60 percent of Americans were opposed to Mr. Trump's bill. For context: When Mr. Trump's first-term budget dropped in 2017, the split was closer, with 41 percent opposed and 28 percent in favor. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Fox News
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Country star's ex gets 'reality check' about Trump's popularity across America
Country singer Zach Bryan's ex-girlfriend, a liberal Barstool host, said Wednesday she couldn't avoid supporters of President Donald Trump even if she tried, because "everyone voted" for him. On "BFFs with Josh Richards and Brianna Chickenfry, the hosts were discussing isolation and the political divide in the country. Chickenfry, whose real last name is LaPaglia, remarked how she and Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports, would "go back and forth" because Portnoy liked Trump. But after putting up an anti-Trump video, she got backlash from people questioning why she was still friends with Portnoy and worked with him when they disagreed with each other. "I can't understand that mentality of, like, just because I don't have the same political opinions as someone doesn't mean I can't respect you or, like, be your friend," she said. "Also, yeah, newsflash, the majority of the country voted for Trump," LaPaglia added. "So, what, am I gonna sit in my house and not talk to anyone? Because, like, everyone that I f---ing know in the real world, it's like, yeah, everyone voted for Trump. "It's a reality check for people like me, to be honest. I didn't realize how many people voted for him in my life." Richards, her co-host, added, "Hating somebody just because they vote for a different person than you is not going to fix any problems that are being faced in America." "It's just also, like, not how you're ever going to come to an agreement or learn something new. Like, if you lean a certain way, you should want to be talking with the people that lean the other way the most, because that's what's actually going to help your perspective or change your perspective," he said.
The Independent
30-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Pride in America hits historic low, new poll finds just days before July 4 holiday
National pride in America has hit a record low, with Democrats and independents feeling less prideful in the country than ever, a new Gallup poll says. Only 36 percent of Democrats say they're "extremely" or "very" proud to be American, while 53 percent of independents said they were, according to the poll conducted just before the Independence Day holiday weekend. The findings are a stark illustration of how many, but not all, Americans have felt less of a sense of pride in their country over the past decade. Meanwhile, Republicans reported a higher level of pride in the country, with 92 percent saying they are extremely or very proud to be American. The split between Democrats and Republicans, at 56 percentage points, is at its widest since 2001. That includes all four years of President Donald Trump 's first term. While Republicans' pride in the country is on the rise, its still not enough to offset the diminishing pride of Democrats. Overall, 58 percent of U.S. adults say they are prideful – still a downward shift compared to last 10 years. Independent voters' pride in their national identity hit a new low in the most recent survey, at 53 percent, largely following that pattern of gradual decline. Democrats' diminished pride in being American is more clearly linked to Trump's time in office. When Trump first entered the White House, in 2017, about two-thirds of Democrats said they were proud to be American. That had fallen to 42 percent by 2020, just before Trump lost reelection to former president Joe Biden. America's decline in national pride has been a slow erosion, with a steady downtick in Gallup's data since January 2001, when the question was first asked. Even during the tumultuous early years of the Iraq War, the vast majority of U.S. adults, whether Republican or Democrat, said they were "extremely" or "very" proud to be American. At that point, about 9 in 10 were "extremely" or "very" proud to be American. That remained high in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, but the consensus around American pride slipped in the years that followed. "It's not just a Trump story," Jones said. "Something else is going on, and I think it's just younger generations coming in and not being as patriotic as older people." Only about 4 in 10 U.S. adults who are part of Generation Z, which is defined as those born from 1997 to 2012, expressed a high level of pride in being American in Gallup surveys conducted in the past five years, on average. That's compared with about 6 in 10 Millennials. "Each generation is less patriotic than the prior generation, and Gen Z is definitely much lower than anybody else," Jeffrey Jones, a senior editor at Gallup, told The Associated Press. "But even among the older generations, we see that they're less patriotic than the ones before them, and they've become less patriotic over time. That's primarily driven by Democrats within those generations." Other recent polling shows that Democrats and independents are less likely than Republicans to say that expressing patriotism is important or to feel a sense of pride in their national leaders. Nearly 9 in 10 Republicans in a 2024 SSRS poll said they believed patriotism has a positive impact on the United States, with Democrats more divided: 45 percent said patriotism had a positive impact on the country, while 37 percent said it was negative But a more general sense of discontent was clear on both sides of the aisle earlier this year, when a CNN/SSRS poll found that fewer than 1 in 10 Democrats and Republicans said "proud" described the way they felt about politics in America today. In that survey, most Americans across the political spectrum said they were "disappointed" or "frustrated" with the country's politics.
