DOOMSDAY POLL: Half of Republicans Believe ‘A Total Breakdown of Law and Order’ and Civil War is Imminent
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Nearly a third of Democrats and half of Republicans believe some truly dire, catastrophic events are imminent for the United States.
A new poll from YouGov asked respondents to predict the likelihood of various doomsday scenarios within the next decade. The results show that a great deal of Americans expect that the country will plunge into civil war, will no longer be a democracy, and overall will be dramatically weakened in some way within the next 10 years.
While the exact circumstances of a new American civil war may vary, the data polled from Democrats and Republicans show that 37 percent of Americans believe there’s at least a chance it will happen in some form. The numbers suggest that about 40 percent of Americans predict a civil war between Democrats and Republicans, 32 percent expect a civil war between red and blue states, and 28 percent expect a war between different races. On a similar note, the poll also found that 28 percent of people expect states will try to secede from the union again.
Even beyond the possibility of a civil war, YouGov’s polling shows a huge chunk of Americans expecting the worst for the country’s future. About 38 percent of respondents think America won’t be a democracy for much longer, and an average 25 percent went even further by predicting the country will become either a fascist or communist dictatorship.
As for the strength of the country, 50 percent expect the U.S. will not remain a superpower, and 47 percent predict “total economic collapse.” An average 37 percent can see a “total breakdown of law and order” on the horizon, with 49 percent of Republicans calling that a likely possibility, and 31 percent of Democrats agreeing with them.
To make matters worse, 31 percent think America will be invaded by a foreign country in the next few years, and 48 percent of Republicans think the federal government will try to confiscate peoples’ guns.
While Republicans and Democrats trended differently in terms of which doomsday scenarios they believe to be more likely, the poll found that both parties were in general consensus that civil war would be a bad thing for the country. Most Americans believe, however, that the government would be able to defeat armed citizens openly rebelling against the country.
The possibility of a new civil war re-entered the public discourse during the fallout from the FBI’s search for the classified documents former President Donald Trump was keeping at Mar-a-Lago. The search has remained a major political flashpoint while Trump faces the possibility of indictment.
