# Do Trump followers and Republicans think the country would survive his reelection? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [January 4, 2024, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-trump-followers-and-republicans-think-the-country-would-survive-his-reelection/995612 "2024-01-04T22:22:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-trump-followers-and-republicans-think-the-country-would-survive-his-reelection/995612/21 "2024-01-04T23:30:51Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > “The end of American democracy” isn’t just a scare phrase, it’s a real possibility. It’s already on life support. I think we are approaching a second American Revolution in which democracy is truly entrusted to the people. I think it is going to be very messy but necessarily all that bloody. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-trump-followers-and-republicans-think-the-country-would-survive-his-reelection/995612/22 "2024-01-04T23:32:00Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > The biggest consequences will be in what the US doesn’t do externally while its attention is absorbed with internal affairs. > > Indeed. Now is not the time to let up on the Putins of the world. Agree with this. My biggest fear is the US withdrawal from NATO and other important world institutions, and the possibility that he would not just withdraw support from Ukraine, but would actually start selling weapons to his friend Putin. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-trump-followers-and-republicans-think-the-country-would-survive-his-reelection/995612/23 "2024-01-04T23:33:07Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > I don’t think Republican politicians will ever, _ever_ consider impeachment (eta - conviction) for Trump. I think it depends on the specifics. Remember that even Republicans were calling him out during and just after 1/6. It wasn’t until things settled down that they changed their tune to defend him. If what he does is crazy enough that they feel threatened they will turn on him in a blink. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-trump-followers-and-republicans-think-the-country-would-survive-his-reelection/995612/24 "2024-01-04T23:33:42Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Agree with this. My biggest fear is the US withdrawal from NATO and other important world institutions, and the possibility that he would not just withdraw support from Ukraine, but would actually start selling weapons to his friend Putin. I think this would be one of the “crazy things” that immediately triggers chaos. Well, either of them: quitting NATO or supporting Putin outright. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-trump-followers-and-republicans-think-the-country-would-survive-his-reelection/995612/25 "2024-01-04T23:41:25Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > I think this would be one of the “crazy things” that immediately triggers chaos. Well, either of them: quitting NATO or supporting Putin outright. I have to disagree. I think there are plenty of Republicans in the House and Senate who would go along with this and make suitable excuses as to why it’s for the best to just shift gears at this point. Perhaps Susan Collins would make a concerned face, but that’s about it. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-trump-followers-and-republicans-think-the-country-would-survive-his-reelection/995612/26 "2024-01-04T23:45:51Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > I have to disagree. I think there are plenty of Republicans in the House and Senate who would go along with this and make suitable excuses as to why it’s for the best to just shift gears at this point. > Perhaps Susan Collins would make a concerned face, but that’s about it. Oh, I think _most_ Republicans in the House and Senate are ready to enable whatever Trump does. The point is that their enabling will be _part_ of what triggers the chaos and not in any way be an ameliorating factor. I don’t think people (not saying you) understand the “suddenly” part of “gradually then suddenly” going bankrupt–in this case, politically bankrupt. We are very close to the “suddenly” phase, and people are not aware. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-trump-followers-and-republicans-think-the-country-would-survive-his-reelection/995612/27 "2024-01-04T23:46:12Z")
> [@](#): > > I fear I don’t get the reference. [“I GOT MACED” - Elizabeth from Knoxville](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbBA0_62K6M) > [@](#): > > If the thing is in doubt, I think you could see both sides calling out for foreign assistance. You are fucking kidding me, right? World sole superpower, glorying in the capability of the firepower to destroy humanity several times over, but if it comes to a bit of claret being spilt in a domestic squabble both Red & Blue sides are going to call in foreign mercenaries to kill Americans? ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-trump-followers-and-republicans-think-the-country-would-survive-his-reelection/995612/28 "2024-01-04T23:51:15Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > [“I GOT MACED” - Elizabeth from Knoxville](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbBA0_62K6M) Ach, poor lady! > [@](#): > > You are fucking kidding me, right? > World sole superpower, glorying in the capability of the firepower to destroy humanity several times over, but if it comes to a bit of claret being spilt in a domestic squabble both Red & Blue sides are going to call in foreign mercenaries to kill Americans? Imagine a power vacuum in which neither side has military supremacy–perhaps the US military is standing aside, watching and waiting. Either or both sides could look to foreign powers to tip the balance one way or the other. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-trump-followers-and-republicans-think-the-country-would-survive-his-reelection/995612/29 "2024-01-04T23:54:59Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > While it’s true that individual dickheads like the Koches support the right wing in the US, I don’t think big business in general wants the chaos (and reduced profits) that a civil war would cause. Multinational corporations would therefore mediate the participation of countries on Side Blue. I agree with your first sentence and disagree with your second. The big money will want to avoid armed bands of citizens roaming the land and blowing up statehouses and all the other chaos of overt domestic war. However, they would welcome overt foreign war. Against Ukraine? Possibly. Trump and his enablers will “discover” a plot by Ukrainians to…do something bad. So, a Trump Administration will aid the noble freedom-lover Putin to wipe out the evil Ukrainians. Or, the same for, perhaps Canada. Taking over Canada would mean grabbing additional oil and other resources. Selling this as God’s Plan to the evangelicals and the Right Thing To Do to the rest of the right probably wouldn’t take much work. In any case, a foreign war–a war that can be sold as Absolutely Necessary–would provide every excuse needed to impose martial law domestically. Imprisoning each and every person who has ever criticized Trump will be Job One. Forced-labor camps for everyone labelled a “dissident” could even be an economic winner for some big corporation (or several of them). Of course it’s the end of democracy, and of course Trump will declare himself President-for-Life. But a foreign war is the key to it all. Expect it. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2024, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-trump-followers-and-republicans-think-the-country-would-survive-his-reelection/995612/30 "2024-01-05T00:01:19Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > But a foreign war is the key to it all. Expect it. I think the spirit of your post is correct, and I think Trump and his nazis could very well attempt such a thing, but I don’t think it would work. I think what we will see in the face of any such “crazy shit” (as I call it) is Blue states banding together and opposing the president and the current order and also gaining the support of most cities in Red states, as they are blue too (Red states will try to control “their” cities, but they will fail; Blue states will not have control over their rural areas, but that won’t matter much). I think this scenario can be triggered very, very easily at this point. I don’t think Trump can get enough power soon enough to make his foreign war ploy work. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2024, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-trump-followers-and-republicans-think-the-country-would-survive-his-reelection/995612/31 "2024-01-05T00:01:49Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > … he would not just withdraw support from Ukraine, but would actually start selling weapons to his friend Putin. Another good point, and an extremely worrisome one. Except I take issue with the term “selling”. He’d just give them to Putin, and then bask in the subsequent praise from his #1 hero. Of course Trump also adores Kim Jong Un, but Putin is much richer and has a nicer palace. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2024, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-trump-followers-and-republicans-think-the-country-would-survive-his-reelection/995612/32 "2024-01-05T00:08:49Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > I don’t think people (not saying you) understand the “suddenly” part of “gradually then suddenly” going bankrupt–in this case, politically bankrupt. We are very close to the “suddenly” phase, and people are not aware. This I can certainly agree with. I think tipping points are very real, and very dangerous. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2024, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-trump-followers-and-republicans-think-the-country-would-survive-his-reelection/995612/33 "2024-01-05T00:11:50Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Or, the same for, perhaps Canada. Taking over Canada would mean grabbing additional oil and other resources. Selling this as God’s Plan to the evangelicals and the Right Thing To Do to the rest of the right probably wouldn’t take much work. Get ready to sing this song > **[Blame Canada](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blame_Canada)** > > "Blame Canada" is a satirical song from the 1999 animated film South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, written by Trey Parker and Marc Shaiman. In the song, the parents of the fictional South Park, led by Sheila Broflovski (Mary Kay Bergman), decide to blame Canada for the trouble their children have been getting into since watching the Canadian film Terrance and Phillip: Asses of Fire and imitating what they saw and heard in it. "Blame Canada" satirizes scapegoating and parents who do not control "t... ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2024, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-trump-followers-and-republicans-think-the-country-would-survive-his-reelection/995612/34 "2024-01-05T00:13:12Z")
The “survival” of the entity currently known as the United States of America is not something Trump followers or Republicans want. They _want_ to destroy what they see as a weak and decadent country. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2024, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-trump-followers-and-republicans-think-the-country-would-survive-his-reelection/995612/35 "2024-01-05T00:14:19Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > This I can certainly agree with. I think tipping points are very real, and very dangerous. Yes. I think the irony of our current political polarization is that we are polarized mostly with respect to superficial aspects of the system. I think both sides are deeply sick of the current order and will mostly cooperate in getting rid of it when the time comes. As one example, does anyone like the US Senate and the filibuster, etc.? I have seen Conservatives defend it, and the reason is clearly that it currently advantages the Red Side over the Blue, but I don’t very few people in the absolute sense admire it. Multiply that by 100 different things, and we will end up disposing of the whole current governmental and economic order. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2024, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-trump-followers-and-republicans-think-the-country-would-survive-his-reelection/995612/36 "2024-01-05T00:14:27Z")
I don’t see the country unraveling if Trump gets re-elected, not in the sense of a civil war or whatever. Think about it: if the maniacs in flyover country control the government, why would they be foolish enough to walk away from it? As for the opposition, do they have the courage or initiative to Do What Must Be Done? I don’t think any of those things is true. I do think that the federal government as we know it would cease functioning. We’d have the pro-forma vestige of constitutional government, but most other services would become snarled and obstucted and shut down. (Except for the parts that would run wild; expect ICE pogroms at whatever loosely qualifies as border). And of course a flurry of protests that would be put down in ways we haven’t seen since Kent State. It would be bad. It would be the beginning of a long unraveling, not a rapid one. Of course… if Trump doesn’t win re-election? Big question mark. Could be nothing, could be awful, that’s the best my crystal ball can do. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2024, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-trump-followers-and-republicans-think-the-country-would-survive-his-reelection/995612/37 "2024-01-05T00:22:27Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > I don’t see the country unraveling if Trump gets re-elected, not in the sense of a civil war or whatever. I don’t think we will see a hot civil war with clearly defined sides a la 1861. > [@](#): > > Think about it: if the maniacs in flyover country control the government, why would they be foolish enough to walk away from it? As for the opposition, do they have the courage or initiative to Do What Must Be Done? I don’t think any of those things is true. I’m not sure exactly what you mean, but I envision something like the West Coast states saying, “Hey, we’re a huge fucking chunk of the US economy, and we’re going to do XYZ instead of the stated ABC, and, by the way, fuck Trump and the Supreme Court.” And then you might have the New England states saying, “Yeah, we’re supporting that too.” And also some Red state counties, cities, etc. And then the question is what happens next. > [@](#): > > I do think that the federal government as we know it would cease functioning. We’d have the pro-forma vestige of constitutional government, but most other services would become snarled and obstucted and shut down. Precisely. It would be a real hodgepodge. > [@](#): > > (Except for the parts that would run wild; expect ICE pogroms at whatever loosely qualifies as border). In the Red states, perhaps. > [@](#): > > And of course a flurry of protests that would be put down in ways we haven’t seen since Kent State. In Red states. Which could trigger a response from neighboring Blue states, Blue cities, etc. > [@](#): > > It would be bad. It would be the beginning of a long unraveling, not a rapid one. I think it would be both. It could happen faster than anyone expects but then take a long time to figure out a solution. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2024, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-trump-followers-and-republicans-think-the-country-would-survive-his-reelection/995612/38 "2024-01-05T00:29:41Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > However, they would welcome overt foreign war. Against Ukraine? Possibly. Trump and his enablers will “discover” a plot by Ukrainians to…do something bad. So, a Trump Administration will aid the noble freedom-lover Putin to wipe out the evil Ukrainians. > > Or, the same for, perhaps Canada. Taking over Canada would mean grabbing additional oil and other resources. Selling this as God’s Plan to the evangelicals and the Right Thing To Do to the rest of the right probably wouldn’t take much work. > > In any case, a foreign war–a war that can be sold as Absolutely Necessary–would provide every excuse needed to impose martial law domestically. Imprisoning each and every person who has ever criticized Trump will be Job One. Forced-labor camps for everyone labelled a “dissident” could even be an economic winner for some big corporation (or several of them). I don’t think they’d bother with Canada because it’s too big and cold. They’d be more likely to invade a smaller and “easier” target in the Western Hemisphere that not only has oil wells but much nicer weather: **Cuba**. Even though Castro is long gone, the existence of Communist Cuba still sticks in the craw of American right-wingers. Plus, the Cuban diaspora makes up a large segment of voters in Florida who’ve been waiting for a Bay of Pigs II for years so why not pay them back for supporting the GOP? A successful invasion and toppling of the current Marxist regime would all but guarantee that Florida would be solidly Republican for at least the next 50 years. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2024, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-trump-followers-and-republicans-think-the-country-would-survive-his-reelection/995612/39 "2024-01-05T00:31:40Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > They’d be more likely to invade a smaller and “easier” target in the Western Hemisphere that not only has oil wells but much nicer weather: **Cuba**. I actually think this is plausible. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2024, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-trump-followers-and-republicans-think-the-country-would-survive-his-reelection/995612/40 "2024-01-05T01:05:45Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > I’m not sure exactly what you mean, but I envision something like the West Coast states saying, “Hey, we’re a huge fucking chunk of the US economy, and we’re going to do XYZ instead of the stated ABC, and, by the way, fuck Trump and the Supreme Court.” And then you might have the New England states saying, “Yeah, we’re supporting that too.” And also some Red state counties, cities, etc. This doesn’t seem all that dramatic to me, blue states defying the US government. We’ve seen forms of that defiance for a while now, in the form of sanctuary cities, marijuana legalization, etc. The Federal government goes a little nuts, the blue states will at most be like “We will delay complying with this SCOTUS decision as we believe we have grounds to challenge the legitimacy of Justice Jeanine Pirro’s being appointed to the 12th and 13th seats of the Dershowitz court.” If there’s to be any real kind of face-off, I would put it at the California-Mexico border, or equally likely Arizona. If I were a President who liked attention and loved trolling the libs, I might send the 3rd Infantry Division to San Diego and dare the California National Guard to say boo about it. And the 101st might occupy Chicago to fight protesters and shoplifters just like they occupied Detroit in '67. These are… not things we want to see. At all. This would be worse than the 1960s, possibly as bad as the 1850’s. Which is, yes, disturbingly within striking distance of the 1860s. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-trump-followers-and-republicans-think-the-country-would-survive-his-reelection/995612.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-trump-followers-and-republicans-think-the-country-would-survive-his-reelection/995612.md?page=3)