America continues to be a nation divided in the eyes of nearly two out of three U.S. voters.

Instead of coming together following the election of Joe Biden as President of the United States, Americans think we are even farther apart. This bodes poorly for President Biden who promised to be in essence an uniter-in-chief. His policies and rhetoric are fueling divisions, take his latest approach to deal with unvaccinated Americans as an example.

According to Rasmussen polling: 

  • 60% of likely voters say the country is more divided since last year’s election
  • 13% of likely voters say the country has become more united
  • 24% of likely voters say the country is the same

These survey results are about the same since January according to pollsters.

In addition, voters overwhelmingly view social media as a divisive force. Just 8% say that social media sites such as Facebook and Twitters help unite Americans, but a whopping 74% say they tend to divide Americans. One in ten (10%) say they don’t have much impact.

Uniter-in-chief? Nope.

The results of this poll should confirm what many people believed: changing the president would not unite America. Yet, this is exactly what then-candidate Joe Biden ran for president on along with a partisan policy agenda that he is now trying to advance without any conservative support.

In his acceptance speech, Biden said:

I am humbled by the trust and confidence you placed in me. I pledge to be a president who does not seek to divide, but unify, who doesn’t see red states or blue states, who only sees the United States.

In a statement reacting to his victory he said:

With the campaign over, it’s time to put the anger and the harsh rhetoric behind us and come together as a nation. It’s time for America to unite. And to heal. We are the United States of America. And there’s nothing we can’t do, if we do it together.

And Biden tweeted:

https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1325118992785223682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1325118992785223682%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.npr.org%2Fsections%2Flive-updates-2020-election-results%2F2020%2F11%2F07%2F932474110%2Fpresident-elect-biden-says-it-s-time-for-america-to-unite

However, nine months into President Biden’s job, voters view the nation as even more divided than before he was elected. While they point to social media as a divisive force, President Biden’s rhetoric and his policies are also dividing Americans. 

His harsh rebuke of unvaccinated Americans last week, for example, is one way that Americans are being pitted against each other. Not only is he mandating that private-sector employers get their workers vaccinated (or tested for COVID weekly), but he’s penalizing the unvaccinated with pink slips.    

Also, the $3.5 trillion Bernie-Biden budget bill will likely be passed along purely partisan lines. That pits the right against the left. This plan even pits the moderate left, which thinks $3.5 trillion is too much, against the radical left, which says $3.5 trillion is not enough. 

If social media is driving division, President Biden’s words and policies are gassing up the car. We can have civil disagreements and find common ground–something that candidate Biden promised and President Biden has turned away from. Most Americans rightly perceive that we are far from those ideals.