If a civil war breaks out in the United States, Representative Adam Kinzinger believes it won’t be reminiscent of the 19th century Civil War because it’ll take the form of “targeted assassinations” and not state against state.
Once an unthinkable theory, growing political divisions have fueled speculation that a civil war could be looming. While some see it as inevitable, others have pushed for people to resist the possibility, and Kinzinger told The View on February 10 that it’s not “too far of a bridge” to believe another civil war could happen in the United States.
If it does happen, he warns that it will not be in the same form as it was in 1861. According to Kinzinger, instead of the usual shape of combat that the Civil War took, where it was “blue versus gray, this time around, it would be “armed groups against armed groups.”
“Targeted assassinations, violence–that’s what a 21st and 20th-century civil war is,” Kinzinger said. “We’re identifying now by our race, by our ethnic group, we’re separating ourselves and we live in different realities.”
Kinzinger, a strong critic of the Republican Party’s allegiance to former President Donald Trump, was censured by the party, along with his colleague, Representative Liz Cheney. He slammed the GOP for being a “once magnificent party” that no longer stands for ideals during his appearance on The View. Instead, he says the GOP represents “loyalty to one man” and that it makes him “sad.”
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has urged for Republican states to secede from Democratic states, and Civil War specialists say there are “indicators” that the US may face another battle.
“Doesn’t seem good right now,” Timothy Snyder, a Yale University history professor, told Business Insider America. He emphasized the high level of divisiveness, as well as people’s belief in different realities and appreciation for violence.
Kinzinger said in an interview with CNN that Trump is one of the most important variables in determining if America would face another civil war. It’s not a “far-off thought” that a militia and counter-militia clash, igniting civil war if Trump and his allies persuade enough people that the former president’s election was stolen.
“I never would say that we would ever have ended in that position, but I now believe it is a real possibility that we have to be wide-eyed as we walk in so we don’t have that happen again,” Kinzinger told CNN.
Kinzinger said in an interview with CNN that Trump is one of the most important variables in determining if America would face another civil war. It’s not a “far-off thought” that a militia and counter-militia clash, igniting civil war if Trump and his allies persuade enough people that the former president’s election was stolen.
