That's not what I'm getting at. When a sizeable portion of the rural population are subject to conspiracy theories and misinformation and worships an incompeten

That's not what I'm getting at. When a sizeable portion of the rural population are subject to conspiracy theories and misinformation and worships an incompetent slob, these effects can undermine the power of the government. This isn't mere "disagreement," unless the Overton window is that large now. As another poster suggested, I could have the causality backwards. Either way, the rural population is where the problem lives.