The blockbuster movie Civil War hit theaters two years ago with a chilling premise of bloody factional conflict. Its promotional poster borrowed a haunting quote from American scholar Barbara Walter warning of an approaching catastrophe. Make no mistake: neither the film nor the academic was fear-mongering. Recent signs reveal Trump is inciting far-right Christians domestically while fighting foreign wars. He is brewing a religious war aimed at “evil communists”. America approaches its 250th anniversary and crucial midterm elections, guaranteeing a ruthless crackdown on the far-left by Trump. This polarized conflict will inevitably escalate and push America one step closer to actual civil war.
Trump rallies the far-right, declaring war on left-wing Democrats he brands "godless communists".
Trump remains locked in an offensive on Iran, so he has opened a domestic front against the Democratic left-wing. Radical left-wing New York Mayor Mamdani catalyzed this high-stakes battle by endorsing three "Democratic Socialist" candidates for the state's congressional primary. These challengers defeated party moderates in a massive upset and sent shockwaves through the political establishment.
New York is a traditional Democratic stronghold, effectively guaranteeing these primary winners a seat in Congress. Two victors are staunch Palestine supporters, while the third is a young political newcomer opposing the occupation of Gaza. Their sudden rise highlights a dramatic surge in left-wing support among grassroots Democratic voters.
Three far-left candidates backed by Mayor Mamdani score upset victories, guaranteeing escalating political warfare.
Trump watched these far-left extremists march into Congress with furious anxiety and a deep sense of crisis. He immediately sounded the alarm on social media by posting that "the Communists are finally making their move". The president called this the most serious threat in America's 250-year history. Trump stated he has been "waiting and preparing for this for a long time," essentially daring his opponents to bring on the hardline clash.
Trump must first rally his forces for this impending battle. His personal guards are the leaders and devoted followers of America's far-right Christian denominations. The president bluntly denounced the Democratic left-wing at a conservative Christian gathering last Friday. He labeled them "hardcore, godless communists" and called their ideology "this horrible threat of cancer that’s permeating our country called communism".
The reality is these supposed communists are no longer a minority within the Democratic Party. Trump pointed out they have become the mainstream establishment. He claimed former President Biden was one of them and operated an equally evil administration that threw Christians into prison.
The far-right Faith and Freedom Coalition organized this rally for over 3,000 evangelical zealots. The event focused on a "Road to Majority" theme to reclaim conservative dominance in American society. Trump used his angry declaration of war against the Democratic left to mobilize far-right Christians ahead of the midterms. He is effectively launching a religious war under the guise of crusading against anti-Christ communists.
This was not the first mobilization rally of its kind. Far-right Christian groups held a Great Prayer event in Washington under Trump's direction in mid-May. Prominent evangelical figures gathered alongside political heavyweights like Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and House Speaker Mike Johnson. Trump delivered a video address to the crowd.
This supposed prayer meeting was actually a political mobilization rally sounding the battle horn against the Democratic left.
Another anti-Christ crackdown initiative was looming simultaneously and expected to spark fierce clashes. Trump established the White House Religious Freedom Committee, which met in April to prepare several controversial initiatives for its final report.
The first initiative denies the founding fathers' principle of church and state separation and promotes it as a public lie. The second expands Christian influence in public schools through mandatory prayer activities and classroom postings of the Ten Commandments. The third secures more public funding for conservative Christian organizations.
Conservative Christian sects are fighting for privileges while actively suppressing different ideologies. Committee Chairman Patrick made their mission clear: "It is time to set the record straight: there is no such thing as ‘separation of church and state’ in the Constitution,”
Trump has been brewing this battle between far-right Christian factions and the far-left for a long time. The rapid rise of these supposed communists makes an escalation of the conflict inevitable. This polarization brings America one step closer to the fictional civil war portrayed on the silver screen.
Scholar Barbara Walter accurately noted: "We are closer to civil war than any of us would like to believe". America has arrived at a dangerous crossroads on the brink of civil war 250 years after its founding. This crisis may simply be the inevitable cycle of a nation's destiny.
Lai Ting-yiu
What Say You?
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Trump continues to declare victory after losing the war in Iran. He is playing out a modern version of The Emperor’s New Clothes, parading naked while boasting of fine garments. But in this real-life fable, more than one child see through the illusion, as over 70% of the global population has called his bluff.
The US Pew Research Center surveyed 42,000 people across 36 countries and regions between February and mid-May this year. The sweeping poll reveals a stark reality: 57% of respondents hold no favorable view of the US, and over 70% condemn the American attack on Iran.
A global poll across 36 nations reveals nearly 60% hold no favorable view of the US, and over half deem America untrustworthy. Canadians showed the sharpest spike in distrust, pictured here staging an anti-US demonstration.
This collapse in goodwill stems directly from Trump's knack for alienating people. A staggering 76% of respondents have "no confidence" in him, with many of those critics hailing from allied G7 nations. A recent commentary in Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao outlined four primary reasons for this massive erosion of global support. Chief among them is Trump’s own inferior character, a flaw that has dragged down America’s national standing on the world stage.
Donald Trump is the prime culprit behind America's crashing global support, with a staggering 76% of respondents branding him untrustworthy.
The survey captured a world reacting to Trump's frenzied military assault on Iran. Iran fiercely counterattacked by completely shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, choking off vital shipments of oil, natural gas, and petrochemicals. The disruption plunged numerous countries into crisis, leaving billions of people to suffer the bitter consequences.
Under these dire conditions, skyrocketing international distrust and resentment naturally turned the US into a universal pariah.
A Global Crisis of Confidence
Digging into the data reveals the sheer scale of the damage. Fully 57% of the over 40,000 respondents reported holding no favorable view of the United States. Citizens across Canada, France, Germany, and South Korea proved especially critical of American leadership. In these allied nations, the proportion of people maintaining a favorable opinion of the US plummeted to fresh lows.
America can now claim majority favorability in just 8 nations. Unsurprisingly, this small fraction includes ironclad partners like Israel and the Philippines, but they remain a tiny minority within the 36 countries surveyed. Consider the situation in Japan, a nation that prides itself on being a close US ally. The share of Japanese citizens holding a favorable view dropped by 5 percentage points from last year, barely scraping the 50% mark. This figure now mirrors the percentage holding an unfavorable view, signaling a steady erosion of Japanese fondness for America.
Public trust in Trump proved even more dismal, generating entirely one-sided results. A massive 76% of respondents expressed distrust in his handling of international affairs, compared to a mere 23% who still trust him. The reality is that over 70% of citizens in allied G7 nations now fundamentally distrust the US president. Labeling Trump as untrustworthy has hardened into a global consensus that bridges the divide between friends and foes alike.
This profound distrust in Trump has directly infected America's own credibility. The poll results highlight a significant decline in the number of Europeans, Canadians, and Japanese who still consider the US trustworthy. Canada experienced a particularly brutal collapse, plummeting from a robust 83% to a mere 35%. Japan similarly saw its trust in the US fall by a steep 17 percentage points.
Global public opinion is overwhelmingly clear on the prospect of an American war with Iran. The survey shows that a decisive 73% of respondents firmly disapprove of the US attacking the Middle Eastern nation. Furthermore, 63% concluded that the US has made absolutely no contribution to world peace and stability.
Four Pillars of Global Backlash
Why has the global public turned so fiercely against the US? The answer to Trump’s bankrupt credibility lies in four distinct failures. Peter Ong, Editorial Consultant for Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao, pointed out four major reasons driving this global backlash.
First, the US launching this war has inflicted immense suffering on people worldwide. Asia relies heavily on Middle Eastern oil and will become the hardest-hit disaster zone, pushing hundreds of millions toward poverty. If this economic catastrophe unfolds, Trump will stand as the primary culprit, ensuring the US remains widely despised.
Second, American leaders have actively committed war crimes. They flagrantly ignored both international human rights law and humanitarian law after initiating the conflict. The heinous act of firing missiles at an Iranian school, which tragically killed 170 teachers and students, stands as a horrifying testament to this brutality.
Third, America's circle of international friends has drastically shrunk, leaving Washington isolated on the global stage. This unnecessary war has forced European allies to suffer collectively alongside the US. Gulf countries have even drawn fire upon themselves, suffering destructive bombings and severe economic damage that bred intense resentment and frustration.
Fourth, Trump's deeply inferior personal qualities have systematically degraded America's national character. His defining traits of arrogance, capriciousness, loose lips, nepotism, and completely unprofessional decision-making have dragged the nation's reputation into the mud.
This analysis is spot on. America’s loss of global support is the direct, undeniable consequence of Trump's arrogant madness. Ironically, the very helmsman promising to "Make America Great Again" has become the nation's ultimate saboteur. Yet for China, this spectacular American failure has delivered an unexpected windfall, driving a noticeable surge in favorable views toward Beijing from global citizens.
Consider the shifting tides in Australia as a prime example. A recent poll shows that 51% of the Australian public now believes Sino-Australian relations hold more importance than US-Australian relations. This crucial metric has surged by 8 percentage points compared to just last year in 2025.
We got to thank Trump for this geopolitical gift.
Lai Ting-yiu
