OTTAWA (Reuters) - About two-thirds of Canadians surveyed this month said American democracy cannot survive another four years of Donald Trump in the White House, and about half said the United States is on the way to becoming an authoritarian state, a poll released on Monday said.
The November U.S. election is likely to pit President Joe Biden against Trump, who is the clear frontrunner to win the Republican nomination as voting in the presidential primary race kicks off in Iowa on Monday.
Sixty-four percent of respondents in the Angus Reid Institute poll of 1,510 Canadians said they agreed with the statement: “U.S. democracy cannot survive another four years of Donald Trump.” Twenty-eight percent disagreed.
The Jan. 6, 2021 attack on Capitol Hill by Trump supporters seeking to block certification of Biden’s 2020 election win shocked many Canadians, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau publicly blamed Trump for inciting the mob.
Trump has vowed if elected again to punish his political enemies, and he has drawn criticism for using increasingly authoritarian language.
Three times as many Canadians say a Biden victory would be better for Canada’s economy (53%) than a Trump win (18%), according to the poll which was seen exclusively by Reuters. The poll, taken between Jan. 9-11, had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points
Wait I know I saw this article like two months ago. Is that what you Canadians have been up to the past 8 weeks? Just sitting there in a constant state of worry?
Am Canadian. Can confirm.
Yep. Can confirm as well. And a weaker US democracy would create a power vaccuum in NATO that would very likely be exploited with the power dynamics in play on the global scale in recent years.
Australian here. I’m pretty sure the entire world shares similar concerns.
Some part of me is afraid I’ll be one of “those people” they send their brownshirts after. Like I’m actually starting to fear what may come in a way that didn’t feel as real even just a few months ago.
Wouldn’t you be? Imagine a Trump-like clown about to be elected in a country you share a border with.
When the downstairs neighbors keep piling up more firewood, and won’t listen to cooler heads, worry is an appropriate response.