It is deliberately vague. Garland did not want people to immediately dismiss the movie as propaganda for either side of the political spectrum. So the story focuses on the human scale of things, intending to be a story about what it might be like to live during such events.
I have not seen it yet, but from what I have read so far, Garland seems to have done a good job in that regard. One of the few story beats includes the fact that California and Texas are allies, fighting against a dictatorial president who has trashed the Constitution so badly that a Western Alliance is formed to depose him.
Ah, good ol' "Wild" Bill Cooper. Mysteriously died right after 9/11. Gunned down by "sheriffs" who claimed he'd attacked someone; everyone knows it was because Slick Willie and AG Reno were out to get him, by any means necessary.
His book, Behold a Pale Horse, was instrumental in opening my eyes back in the mid 90s. Indeed, I was getting some books out of storage (finally getting a bookshelf to put them on!) and his book was right on top. It even came with a "Trilateral Commission" map, showing how the CFR (which we now recognize as a hub for the deep state) was at the middle of so many shady events. It was Wild Bill's tireless quest for the Truth that inspired my handle.