Aren't we supposed to be the United States of America?
Yes, I know; the name of our nation refers to the fact that the 50 states are united in one republic; it doesn't necessarily mean that the people are united. But oughtn't we be? The obvious answer is "yes," but that's sadly not the immediate answer.
A new Issues & Insights (I&I)/TIPP poll is showing increasing disunity, especially among — you guessed it — the left.
Each month, the national online I&I/TIPP Poll asks Americans across the nation whether they would say the U.S. is “very united,” “somewhat united,” “somewhat divided,” “very divided,” or simply “not sure.”
From this, I&I/TIPP creates a national Unity Index, which allows for comparisons over time.
What is it saying? Well, for one, Americans over the past five years or so have never been unified, even though there have been times the Unity Index has trended up.
Indeed, the Unity Index has never breached the neutral 50 level in the past half-decade. In August of last year, not too long after Donald Trump took office, it briefly touched 40.8, its all-time high. But since then, it has dropped back to April’s current reading of 32.1.
While that might seem dramatic, it’s in fact in keeping with the long-trend range for the index, as the chart below shows.
Here's that chart:
— Ward Clark (@TheGreatLander) April 27, 2026
Turns out that if you talk about unity on a partisan basis, it seems to make a big difference as to who's in charge:
As the chart below plainly shows, Democrats and Republicans essentially swapped positions on unity as they swapped presidential parties.
During the Biden years, Democrats bounced between a reading of just over 30 to as high as 55; today, they’re at 23.5, and haven’t been above 35 during Trump’s second term.Republicans reached a giddy high 57.2 in August of last year; today they’re at 44.4.
For independents, it’s very much a “un-unified” feel for the entire half-decade of unity readings.
They’ve been above 30 only twice, once in July 2024, following Biden’s disastrous June 27 debate with Trump, and again in June 2025, as fears of a U.S.-China trade war subsided. But today, indie and third-party voters are at 26.4, just barely higher than the Dems.
And here's that chart:
— Ward Clark (@TheGreatLander) April 27, 2026
So, the question becomes, "Why?" Well, in the light of current events, a more apt question about this increasing feeling of disunity might be "How could it not?"
Read More: Hakeem Jeffries' Unhinged Remarks About 'Civility' After WHCD Shooting Have Jaws Dropping
Hell Freezes Over As Media Reveals Remarkable Actions Trump Took After WHCD Shooting
We just saw, this past weekend, another attempt on the life of Donald Trump. This is the third; two when he was a former president and candidate, and now, while he is in office. What's more, the unhinged leftist who attempted this apparently intended to kill as many administration officials as he could, including, presumably, Karoline Leavitt, who could be giving birth at any moment. This wasn't an isolated thing that drove this goblin to attempt murder, as I&I points out:
What does an assassination attempt have to do with unity? After the failed assassination, some Trump foes took to the internet to suggest that they would have been fine if the president had been killed. Given that level of ideological rage and political polarization, perhaps Americans shouldn’t at all be surprised that our feelings of national unity remain so weak, as the I&I/TIPP Poll clearly shows.
Disturbing as these numbers and these incidents are, it's important to note that as a nation, we've been through worse. So far, at least, we haven't seen a bloc of states break away to try to form a new nation, as happened in 1861. But people on both sides are talking about it.
But it's the normalization, the rationalization, of political murder that's becoming alarmingly prevalent — and it's all coming from the left, never more so than when President Trump is in the Oval Office. Would another Republican president face similar hatred? Would, say, a President Vance, a President Rubio, a President DeSantis be the object of as much hate, and possibly as many attempts on his life?
It's hard to go back from here. It's hard to turn off this kind of hate. And the left seems determined to promulgate it.
We do live in interesting times. One wonders just how much more interesting they will become.
Editor's Note: Do you enjoy RedState's conservative reporting that takes on the radical left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.
Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member