Yes, it’s been one of the more frequently cited issues. What I haven’t heard, however, is a discussion of how feasible that is and how quickly it could be implemented.
Because they have an “R” next to their name, simple as that. Our society is devoted to pandering to the Republicans.
I really do not know how it will happen but the supreme court gave the president almost complete immunity. He can walk in, fire everyone and hire who he wants.
Who will stop him?
I do not think republicans mean to even begin to pretend to play by the rules now. They will aggressively seize power as quickly as they can with only the barest fig leaf to pretend it is all lawful.
True. But if they perform a necessary function, then he also has to get people in to fulfill that function. He also has to prevent other people from quitting, striking, etc.
What will they be seizing, however, that they don’t already have?
Are we talking Enabling Act-level total power? Arresting all Democrats in the federal government? That, I’m pretty sure, would be overplaying the hand, the kind of thing that would trigger secession or a hot civil war. I mean, at the very least, something big and unpredictable, right?
Trump is dumb. The chance of him trying to pull something like that is far above 0%. Even a brute like him knows, however, and certainly his advisers do, that that would instantly change the game he is playing to all-or-nothing. The flip side of, “If you shoot at the king, you dare not miss,” is, “If you are attempting to be a totalitarian autocrat, you dare not fail.”
The biggest positive is that in the 2026/8 elections the Republicans have no one to blame but themselves if things go in the crapper.
There will be no election four years. Trump now controls all three branches of government and is commander in chief. He will set himself up as dictator for life and end American democracy. Whethe I, as a Jew, end up as just a second class citiizen or in a death camp remains to be seen.
Exactly right.
You know, one possible but unlikely scenario is that Trump simply does a great job in his second term. He basically says fuckit to all his revenge and tariff fantasies and does normal shit. In that case, well… good?!
But yeah, with Congress on his side this time, there is no plausible deniability for anything that happens.
Through what method, though? Again, I’m not saying the fear is baseless, but in order to plan to counter such things, we need to have a concrete image of them.
Also, again, Trump will be 82 in 2028. He would need to set up a successor as dictator, which would invite infighting from his own side. So he would need to “sell,” in some sense, both the dictatorship and the successor to the American people at the same time. I don’t think that’s an easy task.
I think Trump is an anti-Semite, but as with all of his mental characteristics, his anti-Semitism is inchoate, and I don’t think he has any real ambitions connected to it.
Diminish, yes, without that particular messiah…
…but die? Of course not. A religious mindset (I mean this in a broad sense, not “organized religion” necessarily) is a mindset, independent of some historical figure. (Maybe “cult-minded” is a better way to put it? Like, several steps toward North Korea…which doesn’t end just because one Dear Leader passes away.)
(I’m no expert in psychology – others can speak to this better than me - but I’m pretty sure this is a big part of it).
Trump does not care about setting up a successor. He only cares about himself. What does it matter what happens to this country when he is dead? He does NOT need to sell anything to the American people. Did you miss the part where Trump controls all three bracnhes of government and the military? He no longer needs the support of the people. He can take control through force.
He can’t be elected to a third term but he still meets the eligibility requirements (35, NBC, resident for 14 years) to BE President. So he get elected as Vice-President and at 12:01pm EST on 20 January 2028 the President sends his letter of resignation into the Office of the Secretary of State.
Repeat every 4 years. SCOTUS has no problem with this.
Again, I disagree. Everything “bad”, now and in the future, is and will be caused by Hillary-Obama-Biden-Harris. Everything “good,” now and in the future, is and will be caused by Trump and Republicans.
If we’re truly in hell-on-Earth in two or three years, Republican voters will ignore reality, just like they’ve been ignoring the good economy and the contributions of immigrants to that good economy.
One thing the successive Kim regimes have done well is be successive. It’s not easy. I think MAGA without Trump is like nazism without Hitler. I don’t think anyone will be able to take up the mantle.
I largely agree with the OP, except for the part of Trump stepping aside at some point, 25th Amendment or no. No way he agrees to anything like that, and his fans in Congress would never support the replacement of Dear Leader. He’ll be dead before anyone else can take his prize. And I do think he will survive the next four years, regardless of his current apparent diminished vigor.
You said dictator for life, but his life is not going to be that long. I don’t think there is any way he would take on some sort of tile, etc., besides “president” until 2028. There is no upside to that.
As for “take power by force,” what would he be taking, specifically? (Not saying you’re wrong, but I think we need to be concrete.)
But doesn’t this gloss over what happened in 2020? A global pandemic isn’t that far from hell-on-Earth and Trump was voted out (barely, but he was).
I understand the fear about the end of Democracy, but I agree with those that say keep a watchful eye and be ready to act when necessary. There is no reason to doom over something that nobody has even suggested trying (seizing power, serving a third term, naming a successor).
Now, if Congress does try to pass something like the Enabling Act or the Executive Orders start flying that go far beyond Presidential Scope or he fires all of his Generals… then yeah, I will start making exit plans.
But for now I’m operating under the assumption that Trump is a con man of failing health and his second term will go largely like his first (hopefully without a pandemic). The biggest thing he might truly fuck up (domestically, that is; I weep for Ukraine) is health care, which, if we are looking at the bright side, suddenly brings back the Democratic parties single best issue.
I hate to disagree with you on this, but many thought abortion was the Democrats best issue this time, and how’d that work out?
First, I don’t even think he would want a third term, if he even has the capacity to want things in 2028. Now if he were 50, 60, 70? He would probably try to find a way to stay in power, sure.
The plan to run for VP seems a bit convoluted, even if the SC would approve, and it also seems a bit un-Trumpian. I don’t think he would want to accept a diminished post even for one second.
Some folks did (boo Ann Selzer) but living in MO I never bought it. I know way too many folks here that voted for Trump, and Hawley, and the whole lot and also voted to allow abortion.
Dobbs pissed women off, sure, but not enough to override everything else (other than women who are already lifelong Democrats).
And since many (most?) swing states and even extremely red ones like MO and OH have been reinstating abortion at least partially, it’s isn’t nearly as motivating an issue as having your health insurance taken away.
Now, if the GOP is stupid enough to try to pass a nationwide abortion ban, then abortion may jump back to the top of the queue. But, IMO, they did a masterful job of defusing abortion as an issue for all but the most fervent pro-choice cohort (who were already voting Dem).
I think it’s fine to game out scenarios–but let’s actually game them out. Generic angst isn’t helpful.
He’s getting what he wants: to be prez again (and receive all the praise and attention that goes with that) and not to go to prison. I think there is a tendency to overstate his ambitions. Now, we should fear the ambitions of the people around him, but his own lack of such is an impediment to theirs.