Washington Free Beacon editor in chief Matthew Continetti said Thursday that cities and suburbs are forming separate cultures than more rural areas and smaller towns, creating a "geographic separation" in the United States.
"I think from a 30,000-foot view, [President Donald] Trump's appearance on the public scene three years ago seems to have ripped off the shroud that obscured a lot of latent tension between the left and the right in the United States," Continetti said during an appearance on Fox News' "Special Report." "And since he came down that escalator, you have had inciteful comments from both the right and the left, and you've had violence from both the extreme right and the extreme left."
"If you actually look at most normal Americans, they're nowhere as polarized as it seems the extremes are," Continetti added. "And so I think people in Washington need to think very seriously about how we get over this moment, because not only do you have these cultural clashes, and you've got the harassment in restaurants, you have mob violence, you have assassinations like this."
"You have a geographic separation," Continetti continued. "You have a culture forming within the cities and in their suburbs, and then a separate culture forming about 30 miles outside downtowns. And that, I think when you look at American history, is not a good thing to have."
Continetti made his remarks during a discussion on pipe bombs and suspicious packages that have been sent to several prominent Democrats and media figures in recent days. Authorities are investigating who sent the packages to Barack Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, former Attorney General Eric Holder, Rep. Maxine Waters (D., Calif.), former CIA Director John Brennan, billionaire liberal activist George Soros, and actor Robert De Niro. The package addressed to Brennan was delivered to CNN's office at the Time Warner Center in New York City, forcing the network to evacuate the building.