Clintons Claim America Is on Edge of Losing Democracy

The pair both said the government as we know it is at risk after the third January 6 committee hearing and a new poll saying a majority of both Democrats and Republicans believe America will "cease to exist" as a democracy, The Daily Mail reported. 

Former president Bill told CBS's The Late Late Show host James Corden on Wednesday night that he fears the United States could "completely lose our constitutional democracy".

Hillary painted a similarly bleak picture in an interview with the Financial Times in an interview published less than 48 hours later on Friday.

Reporter Edward Luce suggested to her that the Democrats "seem to be going out of their way to lose elections by elevating activist causes, notably the transgender debate, which are relevant only to a small minority". 

"We are standing on the precipice of losing our democracy, and everything that everybody else cares about then goes out the window," she added. 

"Look, the most important thing is to win the next election. The alternative is so frightening that whatever does not help you win should not be a priority," she said.

Corden asked Clinton how he stays "so positive in what has been a very, very dark few years", without mentioning Donald Trump by name.

The Democrat admitted it was "impossible to be pessimistic about the future" while he was watching his grandchildren growing up, but went on to paint a bleak picture of America's future - just hours after the third hearing from the January 6 committee hearing.

"I actually think there's a fair chance that we could completely lose our constitutional democracy for a couple of decades if we keep making — if we make bad decisions," Clinton added.  

"I'm not naive about this. I've been in a lot of fights. I've lost some, won a bunch. I've been elated and heartbroken," he continued.

"But I've never before been as worried about the structure of our democratic form of government," he added.

At her lunch with the Financial Times, Hillary was also asked about the possibility of Roe v. Wade being overturned.  

"If you go down the rabbit hole of far right intellectuals, you see that birth control, gay marriage — all of it is at risk," she said.

Then referencing the The Handmaid's Tale author Margaret Atwood, she discussed what the Christian "endgame" is and referenced how the future could mimic the hit Hulu show.

"The level of insidious rulemaking to further oppress women almost knows no end," Clinton said, adding, "You look at this and how could you not but think that Margaret Atwood was a prophet? She's not just a brilliant writer, she was a prophet."

Their interviews followed the Yahoo News/YouGov poll released on Wednesday showing that 55% of Democrats and 53% of Republicans share that belief in a stunning sign of pessimism about the country's future. 

Additionally the poll found that a majority of Republicans - 52% - say it's likely that "there will be a civil war in the United States in [their] lifetime" while half of independents - 50% - and a plurality of Democrats - 46% - agree. 

The poll, which surveyed 1,541 adults and was conduced from June 10 (the day of the first January 6th hearing) until June 13 (the day of the second hearing), also found Americans have largely given up on one another.  

Members of both parties picked negative phrases to describe the person across the political aisle.

Republicans, when asked to choose the phrase that best "describes most people on the other side of the political aisle from you", a majority used "out of touch with reality" (30%), a "threat to America" (25%), "immoral" (8%) and a "threat to me personally" (4%) to describe Democrats. 

Very few opted for "well-meaning" (4%) or "not that different from me" (6%). 

Democrats felt the same about Republicans, using phrases such "out of touch with reality" (27%), a "threat to America" (23%), "immoral" (7%) and a "threat to me personally" (4%) to describe them. 

Very few used words like "well-meaning" (7%) or "not that different from me" (5%).