https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-not-bluffing-maga-extreme-second-term-1235044464/
“Yes, we do really want to burn it all down,” says a Republican close to Trump.
Yeah, I honestly doubt he's going to lose. It would be nice to have faith in this country, but...
Not to speak for the other person but I feel the same way. His win in 2016 was a fluke. He barely squeaked out an electoral college win aided by a bad Democratic candidate that nobody really liked, a steady drip of disinformation from Russia/wikileaks, and Comey. Then in 2020 when the incumbent has a huge advantage, he got his ass kicked hard. I've wondered for the past 4 years is he's gained any voters and after Jan 6th, 80+ indictments, 34 guilty verdicts, and more criminal trials to come, I have a hard time believing he's gained millions of votes.
But goddamn, everybody ignore that and VOTE!!
I wish I had the same mindset, but moderates have shown time and time again throughout history that they will side with outright fascism rather than any amount of actual social progress.
The conclusion is the same though. Get your ass our there and vote
E: words is hard
It was a fluke indeed, no one really expected him to win, he himself the least, he was mostly there for the attention.
But once he was sworn in and the dust settled, the country was stuck with him and would need to ride it out. Problem is, Trump liked playing with the big boys, feeling important and enjoyed being gawked at on his golf course... Not to forget he could use the cash flow, billing the government millions, putting his friends and family in places they had no right to be, it was all useful, and he made himself useful for those keeping him in his seat.
But near 2020 Trump realized he needed to stay there or his world would come crumbling down from debt and his illegitimate activities hidden by his white house shine. So he would go and try to keep the position. Alas that decision did not come with enough time beforehand to cement his position. So they had no preparations on hand when the time was there and his force of headbobbers plainly was too small to push him past the election results.
But that was a lesson learned, and he and those helping him come with the 2025 plan, try to get as many pro-trumpers in useful positions before the election, years in advance, so that they can help push him back in the white house, no matter what the actual vote says...
And here we are; The judiciary system is heavily tilted towards stalling all Trump court cases beyond the elections. The electorate is slithering its way through covert adjustments of voter rules and registration zones. And the legislative shows all signs on this time really refusing to certify losing results.
Meanwhile Trump has a more focused mob now that he can rile up and has more solid plans/experience on what kind of action or roadblock is needed where.
I really do hope cooler heads will prevail. But the months before and after the switch to 2025 will be quite the ride. And possibly bring enormous changes for the whole world.
Not to speak for the other person but I feel the same way. His win in 2016 was a fluke.
It won't be a fluke, this time. Republicans in Red states have spent the last couple years ramming through laws making it harder to vote. And they will certainly be claiming massive fraud again, sans evidence, and tying up certification in their states for as long as possible giving SCOTUS the chance to step in like they did in Florida 2000 when SCOTUS handed the states votes to Bush.
Worse still, republicans in swing states have been trying to use the theory of the independent sate legislature to enact legislation granting themselves the power to overrule the will of the voters and award the state's electoral votes to the candidate of their own choosing. Don't shake your head too quickly at that idea. At least three members of SCOTUS support the idea.
Even so, three justices—Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Clarence Thomas—have spent two years campaigning for the independent-state-legislature doctrine in judicial statements and dissents. None of those writings carried the force of law, but together they served as invitations for a plaintiff to bring them a case suitable to their purpose. A fourth justice, Brett Kavanaugh, wrote a concurrence in which he invited the North Carolina Republicans in the Moore case to return to the Supreme Court after losing an emergency motion. Where John Roberts and Amy Coney Barrett stand on the doctrine is unclear.
You can be certain that there will be lawsuits filed within hours of the election claiming fraud and that the legislatures in those states can name their own electors. I wouldn't even be surprised to see right wing terrorists attacking polling stations, disguised as AFTIFA of course, in order to give the legislatures ammo to support those efforts.
This could be the ugliest election in the history of this nation. The forces of evil are doing all they can to hand Trump another term.