More than four in 10 Americans say civil war is more likely within the next decade, poll finds

A newly released poll has found that a significant number of Americans believe the United States will be embroiled in a civil war within the next 10 years as political divisions continue to strain the country’s civic bonds.

The online survey of 1,500 adults — commissioned by The Economist and conducted by YouGov from 20 to 23 August — found that 29 per cent of respondents said a civil war would be “somewhat likely”, while 14 per cent said such a conflict would be “very likely”.

Self-described “strong Republicans” were the most likely to say a civil war in the US is possible in the next decade, with a full third of them — 33 per cent — saying it was “somewhat likely” and another 21 per cent calling the possibility “very likely”.

A whopping supermajority of respondents, 66 per cent, said the US has become “more politically divided” since the start of 2021. Just four percent fewer respondents, 62 per cent, said the divisions were likely to cause the amount of political violence to increase over the next few years.

The poll results showing Americans predicting more violence in the country’s future come as prominent Republicans continue to stoke outrage over the FBI’s search of former president Donald Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida home earlier this month, and as the House January 6 select committee prepares to restart its’ public hearings on the January 2021 attack on the Capitol by a riotous mob of former president Donald Trump’s supporters.

Speaking to Fox News on Sunday, South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham said Mr Trump’s supporters would turn violent once more if the ex-president were to face an indictment for possessing of highly classified documents at his home and refusing to return them to the National Archives as required by law.

“I’ll say this, if there is a prosecution of Donald Trump for mishandling classified information after the Clinton debacle … there will be riots in the street,” Mr Graham said.