"Any jab targeting 'an individual, a group of people or a country,' as the event page defined it, would halt the flow of gratis suds. The manager predicted it would happen quickly. Everyone within elbowing distance of Rhodes guessed five minutes or less."
"Plenty of Trump supporters savor his verbal punches. But when surveyed, most Americans on both sides of the aisle say they're tired of hostile rhetoric. Most believe our political system is too divided. Yet even the weary, numb or bored still line up to watch the kind of Washington vitriol that ratings and algorithms reward."
Penn Social, a bar near Capitol Hill, hosted a State of the Union watch party with free beer contingent on Trump avoiding insults toward individuals, groups, or countries. Hundreds of young people, including self-described liberals, gathered to witness what they expected to be a caustic political spectacle. The crowd anticipated Trump would deliver an insult within minutes, but the speech remained relatively civil for at least 15-20 minutes. The event reflected broader American ambivalence: while most citizens report fatigue with hostile political rhetoric and acknowledge excessive division, they continue consuming divisive political content driven by ratings, algorithms, and entertainment value.
#political-polarization #state-of-the-union #political-rhetoric #media-consumption #washington-culture
Read at The Washington Post
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