Members of the Democratic Party and the Republican Party don’t see eye-to-eye, but in the last two elections, the hostility between the parties has escalated. We see each other as enemies rather than opponents.
Entire feeds are flooded with propaganda that has created false narratives about our opponents. The politicians don’t mind that they’re lying to voters, they simply want to get their way.
Just before election day, rallying in Pennsylvania, Donald Trump ended his speech with a vicious message about his political opponents, Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
“They are so bad and frankly, they’re evil,” President-elect Trump said. “They’re evil. What they’ve done, they’ve weaponized, they’ve weaponized our elections. They’ve done things that nobody thought was even possible.”
Vice President Harris is also guilty of contributing to the division of parties. In an interview with Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier, Harris made statements about Trump that painted him in a bad light to seemingly steer voters away.
“Donald Trump is unfit to serve, he is unstable, dangerous and people are exhausted with someone who professes to be a leader who spends full-time demeaning and engaging in personal grievances… American people are tired of that.” Harris said.
Not only is hostility between parties shown in the actual politicians but it is also shown with voters, too. A 2022 Pew Research Center study discovered that the majority of enrolled Republicans and Democrats characterize their opponents with terms like “dishonest,” “immoral,” and “unintelligent.” Democrats were referred to as “lazy” by the majority of Republicans who responded.
That same Pew study showed that about six in ten Republicans (62%) and more than half of Democrats (54%) have a ‘very unfavorable’ view of the other party. A drastic shift from the 21% of Republicans and 17% of Democrats in 1994.
According to a YouGov study, hostility between the two parties has risen between 2023 and 2024. In 2023, 74% of Republicans feel unfavorable toward Democrats, and 69% of Democrats feel unfavorable toward Republicans. In 2024, 85% of Democrats have an unfavorable opinion of the Republican party, an increase of 16% since 2023. For Republicans, 88% of Republicans feel unfavorable toward the Democratic party.
We have to find ways to reunite. I am not your enemy, and you are not mine. We are all Americans. We, Democrats and Republicans, have more in common than we allow ourselves realize – at the end of the day, we are all human.