Survey experiments reveal that the phrase "use of force" is not a euphemism for protest. When probed, 55% of those who support using force to prevent Trump from being president specify they mean assassination, often with rifles.

Recent survey data reveals a shocking escalation: 65 million Americans support using force to prevent Donald Trump from being president, while 40 million support him using the military on protestors. This totals over 100 million Americans endorsing political violence.

Mass support for political violence creates a crucial motivator for volatile individuals: social approval. The expectation that their actions will be celebrated by millions nudges them over the edge to commit violent acts, a dynamic amplified by social media.

The common narrative that most political violence comes from the right is based on data starting in the 1990s. Analysis since 2015 shows a new era of 'violent populism' with violence becoming heavily balanced between the left and the right.

The US is not heading toward a civil war defined by organized armies. Instead, it's experiencing "violent populism," where political violence becomes normalized on both the left and right. This creates a dangerous environment where executive power, such as the use of martial law, expands under the pretext of maintaining order.

Well-off individuals engage in political violence because they are terrified that the opposing party, upon winning, will dismantle their way of life, future, and their children's future. This perceived existential threat makes them willing to risk their comfortable lives.

The primary problem isn't the small number of violent extremists, but the far larger population that sympathizes with them. This mass support normalizes and encourages violence, creating the environment for it to flourish, as seen in conflicts from Northern Ireland to the US.

The most significant danger to the United States isn't a foreign adversary but its own internal discord, self-loathing, and loss of faith in its institutions. This "suicide" of national will, often stemming from an elite disconnected from the populace, creates the weakness that external threats exploit.

America's founding principle was to guard against government tyranny. Paradoxically, intense political division has led some to support tyrannical measures, such as a military coup, to remove a leader they fear is a dictator, fundamentally misunderstanding that the solution is worse than the perceived problem.