AMERICAN CARNAGE?
Violence fears as polls tension rises
WITH less than 24 hours to go, the race for the White House has tightened as the States gears up for possible “civil war”.
As tensions increase ahead of tomorrow’s ballot, cities spent yesterday boarding up shops and businesses amid fears armed groups will take to the streets in a national wave of violence.
Some Americans have even travelled to secret locations to ride out election week.
Since Donald Trump came to power, America has become increasingly divided and violence has increased under his leadership.
Yet during his inauguration in January 2017 Trump painted a bleak picture of the country he inherited from Barack Obama and vowed to stop crime soaring and businesses going bust.
“This American carnage stops right here and stops right now,” Trump said on the steps of the Capitol. Yesterday he and Joe Biden spent the day blitzing America in a final push for votes.
The President held five rallies in Michigan, Iowa, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida while Biden concentrated on Philadelphia.
Today Trump, whose wife Melania has also been on the campaign trail, is expected to visit the critical states of Michigan and Wisconsin while both he and Biden will visit Pennsylvania.
Polls show Biden’s once-comfortable lead reducing in some States. Key battlegrounds of Arizona and North Carolina have tightened, but Obama’s former deputy is still ahead in Upper Midwest states Michigan and Wisconsin.
All four states were won by Trump in 2016, and a loss tomorrow in any of them would make his narrow path to victory even more difficult.
Arizona polls show Biden at 50% support to Trump’s 46%. In Wisconsin, the Democrat has 52% behind him to the President’s 44%.
Milwaukee resident Pat Finn, 44, told the Mirror that in 2016 there was apathy about voting among people in the city, but this year is “entirely different”. He said: “Four years ago people in Wisconsin were so disinterested. Many chose not to vote, but this time around it is entirely different. People are far more engaged and know every single vote is needed.
“Recent months have seen many cities go up in flames and come tomorrow there are very genuine fears it will descend into violence.
“It’s difficult to think of a time America has been so divided. The whole country is triggered.”
In Pennsylvania, the ex-Vice President holds a slight lead over Trump and the two candidates are in a virtual dead heat in Florida. If he were to carry the Sunshine State, Biden would likely need to flip just one more big state won by Trump in 2016 to clinch the presidency.
Surveys suggest Biden has banked on a large advantage among the 93 million voters who have already cast their ballots by post or through early in-person voting due to the pandemic.
The President, however, is thought to hold a large advantage among those who will vote on the day – a bloc which could shape the outcome.
Biden could win the popular vote like Hillary Clinton in 2016 but still lose the White House through America’s electoral college system.
As Trump continues to cast doubt on whether he will commit to a peaceful transfer of power should Biden win, the National Guard has been placed on standby.
Trump has dodged questions on whether he would leave the White House of his own accord after questioning whether the election will be fair.
His administration has been working with Biden’s team to prepare for a possible handover.
But it has been claimed the Democrat team is making preparations for roadblocks from Trump’s administration. Both candidates have assembled legal teams to focus on voting and election issues surrounding any “close” result.
Interest in buying guns has soared. The number of FBI background checks undertaken since January is more than 28 million – already more than for all of 2019. Some buyers wish to protect themselves from any unrest, others worry the Democrats will pass stiffer gun laws. It mirrors a rise in talk of civil unrest and even war in online forums where right-wing extremists gather. They have been emboldened by the language used by Trump who, in a TV debate with Biden, refused to disavow far-right groups, telling one to “stand back and stand by”. White Supremacist groups took his words as a call to arms. Research also shows a rise in the willingness by some citizens to view violence as acceptable against political opponents. Dozens
of Americans have gone to hidden locations in Colorado and West Virginia for the week.
Drew Miller’s customers at Fortitude Ranch will be protected behind walls patrolled by armed guards. “Could the election devolve into civil war? Unlikely,” he told the Washington Post.
Miller, the founder of a network of members-only survivalist camps, added: “But look at World War I. Some low-level archduke gets assassinated and things escalate out of control. I’ve got people concerned that all it would take is a close election and some cheating.”
In Portland, Oregon, backdrop to months of violence following the deaths of black Americans due to police brutality, an armed right-wing group plans to show up at ballot drop-off sites tomorrow with their weapons on show.
Some extreme left-wing organisers have also said their groups intend to show up.
“The right is not going to give up their power unless they feel threatened,” said Olivia Katbi Smith, co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America in Portland. “People are opening up to the idea that a riot is the language of the unheard. Property destruction is not violence.”