There is a reason that Trump's followers latched on to these conspiracy theories so easily. Trump has built his entire movement around telling his followers that they are being screwed over by a cabal of unaccountable elites. People with power who can get away with anything while the little guy gets screwed by the system over and over again.But Trump has always been an imperfect messenger for that movement. First of all, he is the embodiment of the elite. Not only did he inherit unimaginable wealth, but he ...

Joining us now, New York Times opinion columnist David French, executive editor of More Perfect Union, Faz Shakir, and staff writer at The Atlantic, and MSNBC political analyst Ashley Parker. Ashley, this is so interesting to me because this Epstein thing is so sticky to the base, to to the loud voices of the base, the ones that whip people up online. And it's the it's the one thing that I haven't seen the president in this 2.0% version of him be able to shake, right.I mean, I I love that pebble you don't s ...

Core Insights - The latest Political Risk Index by Willis indicates that rising political polarisation is linked to increased political violence and unpredictable government policies [1][2] Group 1: Affective Polarisation - Affective polarisation is at a historic high globally, with individuals increasingly viewing supporters of opposing political parties as hostile [2] - Countries experiencing violent political conflicts show the highest levels of polarisation, with democracies like the US, Germany, India, Brazil, and Bulgaria seeing the fastest increases [2][4] Group 2: Ideological and Elite Polarisation - The index also examines ideological polarisation, which reflects the extent of agreement on core policy issues, and elite polarisation, which measures how political rivals view each other as legitimate [3] - The US is unique in that it has seen rapid increases in affective, ideological, and elite polarisation over the past 15 years [3] Group 3: Historical Context and Trends - Historical data from over 200 countries shows that surges in polarisation often follow economic crises or corruption scandals, leading to the rise of populist movements and increased political violence [4] - Positive trends have been observed where truth and reconciliation processes, cross-party coalitions, and transparent investigations have led to reductions in political polarisation [4] Group 4: Business Implications - The director of political risk analytics at Willis highlights the correlation between polarisation and political violence, noting that businesses face growing challenges in increasingly polarised societies [5]