By Jason Lange
WASHINGTON, June 16 (Reuters) – As the U.S. approaches its 250th birthday next month, two out of five Americans do not believe it will endure another 250 years beyond that, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that highlighted deep divisions over how the nation views itself.
The four-day poll, which concluded on Monday, comes amid the polarizing pageantry that President Donald Trump has brought to celebrations for July 4, which will mark 250 years since the people who became known as the founding fathers of the U.S. declared their independence from Britain.
Trump has put himself at the center of many of the events to mark the anniversary, including staging a White House cage match on his birthday on Sunday. On Monday he said he would be the main attraction at a July 4 celebration in Washington that will also serve as a political rally for the Republican as his party looks to keep control of Congress in November’s midterm elections.
Trump has framed his presidency as a bid to save America from being destroyed by Democrats. Democratic leaders contend it is Trump who is the danger to democracy and allege he is using federal law enforcement to target political critics.
Some 38% of respondents in the poll – including 40% of Democrats and 26% of Republicans – said they didn’t think the U.S. will exist as a single country 250 years from now. Just 62% thought their nation would last.
Trump has accused Democrats — and especially the prior presidential administration of Democrat Joe Biden — of illegally targeting his allies, including those involved in the January 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol, which was an attempt to overthrow Trump’s loss in the 2020 presidential election. Republicans also point to multiple assassination attempts against Trump as evidence that the leader’s opponents are bent on violence.
MANY SEE DEMOCRACY IN DANGER OF FAILING
Two-thirds of respondents — including 85% of Democrats and 50% of Republicans — said they agreed with a statement that American democracy was in danger of failing. The overall share seeing democracy at risk was up from 57% in a poll conducted in August of last year, with the increase driven by more Republicans worried about democracy’s staying power.
Trump for years has claimed falsely that his 2020 loss was the result of widespread voter fraud and has been pushing for changes to voting laws.
Some 77% of poll respondents said it was likely that political violence would increase in the next five years.
GREATEST COUNTRY IN WORLD?
The poll also showed the share of Americans who see the country as a global standout is on the decline. Some 30% of respondents said they considered America the greatest country in the world, down from 38% in a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in November 2017, during Trump’s first term in office. The share of Democrats with this view fell to 11% from 26%, while the share of Republicans held steady at about six in 10.
A majority of Americans — including three-quarters of Democrats and half of Republicans — said they thought the events celebrating the country’s 250th anniversary had grown too political.
Americans were also divided along more mundane matters like how to celebrate Independence Day. Some 52% of Republicans said their celebrations would include wearing red, white and blue clothing – the colors of the U.S. national flag – compared to 20% of Democrats. Republicans were more likely than Democrats to say they planned to attend a fireworks show — 46% to 28%.
The poll, which was conducted online, gathered responses from 1,537 U.S. adults nationwide and its results had a margin of error of 3 percentage points in either direction.
(Reporting by Jason Lange; editing by Scott Malone and Deepa Babington)
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