I am trying to look on the bright side so here are some positives I have come up with:
-There isn’t going to be a repeat of January 6
-There aren’t going to be as many lawsuits challenging the election (there will no doubt be some)
-There will be a smooth transfer of power
-Trump now has to live in the White House (which we know he dislikes)
Trump now has to actually do some of the work as President (which we know he dislikes)
-Oops, Trump sold the hotel so he won’t make money by having foreign dignitaries stay there
-While blue states will not be getting Federal aid for disasters, I live in a state that is not regularly prone to Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Widfires or Earthquakes
-Meanwhile, my state remains blue with a slight Democratic majority in both houses despite a Republican governor
-I have two Democratic Senators (Warren and Kaine) and a Democratic Congressman (Conolly) who I am very happy with and who will fight for the things I believe in
-Trump may let the SALT cap expire and as someone with very high property taxes, that will personally benefit me
-The estate tax exemptions will likely not be allowed to expire, which will personally benefit me
-If things get too bad, I can always emigrate to Israel, using the right of return and Trump’s policies are at minimum going to ensure Israel’s survival as a country (albeit with devastating consequences for the Palestinians)
-I don’t have children, nieces or nephews so I really don’t have to worry about the national deficit/debt since I’ll be dead in the long term
-While I will lose my health care if the ACA is repealed, as a physician I will probably be able to get other physicians to treat me for free and I will be eligible for Medicare (if it exists) in a few years
-I am a post-menopausal female without children so I personally won’t be hurt by any abortion bans
-I look forward to the Repulicans having to suck up to Trump for the next four years.
-Meanwhile, the demographics of the Republican party have changed and they now have to cater to their new base or risk losing votes
-Trump has promised so many things he cannot possiblty deliver on (end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours, lower prices immediately, increase US income and lower taxes through increased tariffs, replace the ACA with a better and cheaper plan, help people with childcare by drilling for oil, deport all illegal imigrants immediately) that just maybe somebody who voted for him will notice
-Melania is going to have to suck it up and be First Lady again including doing the Christmas decorations
-Minnesota gets Walz back and Harris and Biden will likely get great book deals and I suspect Harris will get good speaking fees and maybe a law school teaching position.
-Ruffles has temporaily brought back their All-Dressed flavor although I am having trouble finding it anywhere but Giant
-Mint M&Ms will also be in stores again soon for the holidays
So although things suck for the country, I personally will not be as bad off as most people. I try to remind myself that if I am completely selfish and supress any compassion for my fellow human beings, things can look better for me. It’s hard but I am trying to rid myself of any empathy or concern for the welfare of my patients or the rest of humanity.
Trump will hobble or eliminate NOAA, stop publishing any further National Climate Assessment Reports (or indeed, any satellite-based climate monitoring data), and prevent government employees from acknowledging the realities of the impact of climate change, so we will no longer have to worry about projections of climate shifts or preparing regions to become more resilient, which will save time and money. Plus, this will dump a lot of people on the job market who are really well versed in the mathematics of statistical time series modeling who can now put themselves to the work of economic forecasting, generating useless models of stock and commodities markets for endless speculation and “wealth generation”, fueling endless cycles of financial boom and bust bubbles.
You were intending this to be a darkly sarcastic “gallows humor” thread, right?
Yes. I have to laugh or I will just cry and eat junk food. I already ate my large bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos as a tribute to Harris and her response to the 2016 election.
It looks like he’s going to have control of the House as well as the Senate, and have a friendly Supreme Court, so he really has no excuse not to fix everything. Looking forward to the results.
For certain and perverse definitions of “fix”. But Trump has managed to fuck of every silver spoon ever put in his mouth, so whatever happens I’m at least marginally hopeful that he’ll undermine himself, too. I’m just hoping that he doesn’t drag the rest of us down with him.
To put it another way - by 2028, anyone old enough to have been drafted will be 75 at the youngest, so we’re pretty much done electing Silents and Baby Boomers at this point.
As a child born of a (then-)illegal alien, I might finally have my birthright citizenship revoked and stop having to file US taxes every year. (There are some negatives to that one for me, though, not to mention everybody else affected.)
Calexit might gather some real steam. I wasn’t in favour of it last week, but I am now and for the next couple of years at least. (Prediction: it won’t actually gather steam.)
A positive thing, when your party loses the American presidency, is the likelihood of a congressional comeback in two years. And since Trump is an instant lame duck, the Democrats are also favored for 2028.
This beautiful Nancy Pelosi interview explains how to look at it:
Yeah. Uh Nancy? We’ve seen what the Congress is capable of doing when it’s controlled by the Democrats with a Democrat President let alone with a Republican one, I think we’re all depressed enough.
Andy Borowitz, the very funny satirist, has momentarily gone not-funny following the election. He’s in shock like most decent people. A glimmer of positivity appears in the serious article cited below. The essence of it is that Trump, “with his signature blend of inattention, impulsiveness, and incompetence” will fail to accomplish his key goals, although it’s possible that his MAGA followers, fueled by the usual disinformation machine, won’t be aware of it.
This is Andy’s view in a nutshell:
… the enemy most likely to thwart Trump in his second term might be one who isn’t on his list: himself. The seeds of Trump’s downfall may reside in two promises he made to win this election: the mass deportation of immigrants and the elimination of inflation.
Trump’s concept of a plan to deport 20 million immigrants is as destined for success as were two of his other brainchildren, Trump University and Trump Steaks. The US doesn’t have anything approaching the law-enforcement capacity to realize this xenophobic fever dream.
And as for Trump’s war on inflation, the skyrocketing prices caused by his proposed tariffs will make Americans nostalgic for pandemic-era price-gouging on Charmin.
Perhaps one positive aspect is that Trump is, as you alluded, not interested, easily distracted, and unprepared for the challenges ahead. Yes, like all salesmen, he talks a good line, but unlike the used car salesman who wants to close the deal to get his commission, Trump would rather somebody else take care of it. “The buck starts here.”
And we’ll see that going forward. All these appointments Trump is making—he’s making them based on who supported him and their loyalty to him, but not on qualifications. His administration will be a mess, the unqualified trying to get rid of the well-qualified, and if anybody that he’s appointed goes against Trump’s wishes, “You’re fired!” The phrase, “How many Scaramuccis did that one last?” will re-enter common discourse.
In other words, there will be a lot of infighting, trying to curry favour with The Boss (not Springsteen), and little to nothing of significance actually gets done.
We get to watch the public spectacle of a series of hopeful sycophantic leopard-enablers being surprised that their face was eaten, as Trump consumes his supporters to preserve his own status.
I agree that the backstabby politics will make the Trump White House less efficient. Hell, most of those guys probably don’t like each other and will all of their time currying favor.
