UChicago Terrorism Expert Says America a ‘Tinderbox’ in 2024 | Chicag…

Saturday marked the third anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of then President Donald Trump.

With Trump the overwhelming favorite to get the Republican nomination once again, President Joe Biden has begun to focus his attacks on his presumed opponent.

In a speech Friday from Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, Biden portrayed Trump as an existential threat to American democracy. Biden made clear that in his mind the electoral stakes could not be higher.

“This is not rhetorical, academic or hypothetical,” said Biden. “Whether Democracy is still America’s most sacred cause is the most urgent question of our time And it’s what the 2024 election is all about.”

Below is a Q&A with Robert Pape, political science professor at the University of Chicago, terrorism expert and the founding director of the Chicago Project on Security and Threats, or CPOST.

(The interview has been edited for length.)

WTTW News: We’ve just passed the third anniversary of the…