MINNEAPOLIS — Political science experts worry political rhetoric could lead to more violence.
“It is all extremely disturbing, but I worry that with the rhetoric of violence continuing, we’re going to see more violence,” said University of Minnesota Political Science Professor Kathryn Pearson.
Since 2016, Pearson said there has been an increase in violent rhetoric.
“The rhetoric has sort of been building despite the increase in actual violence and the threats on politicians’ lives,” Pearson said.
Pearson said the tone at the Republican and Democratic National Conventions will be key in uniting the country.
“I’m really hopeful the public will head sort of what President Biden, former president Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson have said, which is to tone down the rhetoric,” she said.
Political leaders want the rhetoric to cool down to prevent more violence from happening. But, when Pearson looks online, she’s disappointed by what she sees.
“If you turn to social media, you can see that a lot of politicians and a lot of people out there in America haven’t toned it down,” she said.
University of Minnesota Political Science and Psychology Professor Howard Lavine isn’t as optimistic the Republican and Democratic parties will carry the message of unity for long.
“I don’t think so, no. I think the rhetoric is where it is in part because we’re so polarized, our underlying identities are now attached to partisanship,” Lavine said. “I think it’s unlikely, especially as we roll into an election that we’re going to see anything but an upping of the tone, especially if either party feels like it’s in their advantage to do so.”
He said it’s in neither party’s interest to stop attacking the other side.
“Negativity tends to be more persuasive than positivity, so negative information tends to weigh more. There’s a lot of research to back this up over a period of decades,” he said.
Lavine said it’s been a long time since Americans have united, and he doesn’t believe the assassination attempt on Trump will bring people together.
“He was able to walk off the stage, he was able to show a strong sense of defiance, so I don’t think this is anything like a moment," he said. "9/11 was a moment and 9/11 didn’t last long either, but that was probably the last moment that we all came together at least as Americans for a period of time."