As political divisions deepened by former president Donald Trump’s refusal to accept defeat in the 2020 election. Trump’s lie that his defeat by Joe Biden was caused by electoral fraud stoked the deadly attack on the US Capitol on 6 January, over which Trump was impeached and acquitted a second time, leaving him free to run for office.
The “big lie” is also fueling moves among Republicans to restrict voting by groups that lean Democratic and to make it easier to overturn elections.
Such moves remain without counter from Democrats stymied by the filibuster, the Senate rule that demands supermajorities for most legislation. In addition, though Republican presidential nominees have won the popular vote only once since 1988, the GOP has by playing political hardball stocked the supreme court with conservatives, who outnumber liberals 6-3.
All such factors and more, including armed citizens run state militias and a pandemic which has stoked resistance to government, have contributed to social conflicts that could lead to a civil war.
Three retired United States generals are issuing a chilling warning about the possibility of yet another attempted coup in 2024. In an op-ed published by The Washington Post, former Army Major Gen. Paul Eaton, former Brigadier Gen. Steven Anderson, and former Army Major Gen. Antonio Taguba expressed concern about what the future holds for America's fragile democracy.
The generals warned that a divided military would leave the United States vulnerable in regard to national security. "In this context, with our military hobbled and divided, U.S. security would be crippled," they wrote. "Any one of our enemies could take advantage by launching an all-out assault on our assets or our allies."
Although the 2020 presidential election is behind us, the generals warned that now is the time to prepare for the future due to the ongoing division that still exists across the country. They later added, "With the country still as divided as ever, we must take steps to prepare for the worst."
The US has passed through stages of “pre-insurgency” and “incipient conflict” and may now be in “open conflict”, beginning with the Capitol riot.