Ronald Brownstein, Columnist

Red and Blue States’ Fight Is Reaching a Dangerous Level

We’re seeing the greatest strain on the nation’s cohesion since the Civil War.

September 10, 2025 at 10:00 AM UTC

Ronald Brownstein is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering politics and policy. He is a CNN analyst and the author or editor of seven books.

Face off.
Photographer: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images (L); Brandon Bell/Getty Images (R)

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The cold war between red and blue states is escalating to a dangerous new level. Under the piledriver pressure of President Donald Trump’s bellicose second term, the red and blue blocs are moving from separation to confrontation.

The first stage in this unraveling has been divergence on state policy, particularly around social issues.