Donald Trump has his work cut out for him. From his predecessor, the president-elect will inherit a nation that the overwhelming number of Americans believe is more politically divided than ever.
Nearly nine out of ten, or 86 percent of Americans according to new Pew research, described the country as divided on party lines. Compare that with the 46 percent who said the nation was asunder when Obama became president.
Promising to be “president for everyone,” Trump’s job is to heal those divisions.
But that’s easier said than done. More than unemployment, healthcare, or terrorism, Democrats say Trump’s the greatest problem facing America. “Democrats (17%) are much more likely than Republicans (3%) to say Donald Trump is the most important problem facing the country today,” Pew reports.
While the left regularly dings the right for sowing division. That’s quite the difference from eight years ago. “In February 2009, weeks after Obama took office, fewer than 1% of Republicans said he was the most important problem facing the country (no Democrats said this).”
With his inaugural address, Trump can try to bind up those wounds. But it’ll take more than today’s speech.
Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
