One Nation, Divided Under Trump, With Perilous Consequences

Looking for perspective on this past year and the one ahead, I turned to several of the nation’s most experienced former military commanders. One of them put it bluntly: The United States is so divided politically at home that we are becoming vulnerable to our adversaries abroad.

Our country, these retired military leaders fear, is so polarized right now that it might be difficult to mobilize the nation for war, if that were necessary. The nation survives amid division and dysfunction now, when we’re more or less at peace. But if the United States faced a serious threat abroad, say from a nuclear-armed North Korea, these domestic fissures could be paralyzing.

The shrinking space for governance worries me at year-end. The problem begins at the top: President Trump is the most unpopular president in modern times. He’s less admired than his predecessor, Barack Obama. He misreads the nation: The more divisive Trump has become — the more he picks at the nation’s scabs — the less the public likes him, according to polls. Yet Trump persists, playing to his base, with harmful consequences for the country.