Ian Patrick, FISM News
Biden’s primetime speech where he again demonized “MAGA Republicans” and former President Donald Trump doesn’t seem to be sitting too well with the American public.
According to a recent survey of likely voters from The Trafalgar Group along with the Convention of States Action, 56.8% said that Biden’s speech represented “a dangerous escalation in rhetoric and is designed to incite conflict amongst Americans.”
On the other hand, 35.5% of voters said that Biden’s speech was nothing more than “acceptable campaign messaging” while another 7.7% were not sure what to think.
The question posited to these likely voters specifically focused on one part of Biden’s speech, in which he called MAGA Republicans “an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic.”
Broken down further, it is likely easy to guess that surveyed Republicans believed this messaging to be inflammatory (89.1%) more than surveyed Democrats (18.7%.)
Likewise, Democrats were more apt to believe that this messaging was acceptable for campaigning (70.8%) than Republicans were (4.7%).
However, the tell-tale signs of survey sway usually fall in the independent category of voters. In this case, 62.4% believed that Biden’s wording was inflammatory while 31.2% said it was appropriate and 6.4% were unsure what to think.
At least a quarter of surveyed respondents identified themselves as belonging to no party or something other than Republican and Democrat for this survey.
The data shows that of almost all the demographic types specified in the survey, at least half believed the speech contained inflammatory rhetoric. This includes all age groups, from ages 18 to 65 and older, as well as those belonging to Asian and White ethnicities.
In fact, the only noted demographics which had more respondents believing Biden’s speech to be acceptable rather than inflammatory were those who identified themselves as ethnically black and hispanic.
Biden’s speech was derided by politicians and citizens on both sides of the aisle, which eventually led him to try and walk back some of his remarks. However, at that point the damage had been done and many were responding to the harsh language and overtones during the speech.
One group, comprised of multiple former Defense Secretaries and Joint Chiefs of Staff chairmen, issued an open letter specifically looking at 16 “core principles and best practices by which civilian and military professionals have conducted healthy American civil-military relations.”
The letter points to the “extreme strain” in the American civil-military relationship in recent years, such as the evacuation from Afghanistan and the pandemic lockdowns. With this in mind, the group aims to refocus attention on how the military is to behave per Constitutional law.
Although not specifically mentioned, the letter came out five days after Biden’s speech, which prominently featured two Marines in the background.
The group mentions in their letter that the American military must refrain from partisan politics.
There are significant limits on the public role of military personnel in partisan politics, as outlined in longstanding Defense Department policy and regulations. Members of the military accept limits on the public expression of their private views — limits that would be unconstitutional if imposed on other citizens. Military and civilian leaders must be diligent about keeping the military separate from partisan political activity.