Do not remain calm. A second Trump presidency really will be that bad

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-do-not-remain-calm-a-second-trump-presidency-really-will-be-that-bad/

45 comments

  1. It’s almost like we should take drastic measures. I know! Why don’t we drop our widely unpopular candidate.

  2. Some of the points from this pointed and wide ranging op-ed:

    >“Another four years of Trump is not enough time to turn America into a dictatorship,” a Brookings Institution scholar offers, soothingly. True, Mr. Trump has a four-year head start. “But he is still a long way off from achieving total control over U.S. institutions, media and the judiciary, or building the kind of social consensus he’d need to reign as an autocrat.”
    >
    >…
    >
    >It’s easy to see the appeal of this line of thinking, even among Mr. Trump’s critics. It’s natural to want things to work out, and to rearrange your expectations to fit your desires. It is pleasing to the ego as well. To make the case for calm, even as disaster looms, makes one sound grown-up. It suggests a seen-it-all steadiness, steelier nerves, superior wisdom, in all a readiness to stand apart from the panicking crowd.
    >
    >It is hard, by contrast, to stare into the abyss. It’s unpleasant to consider just how bad things could get. It connotes negativity, pessimism, a certain Eeyore-like moroseness. The mind rebels, wandering off in search of ways to deflect, to normalize.
    >
    >You can see this in much of the media coverage. Over the years, Mr. Trump has benefited from any number of different media habits – reflexes, really, born not of any overt bias toward him, God knows, but of the needs of storytelling and the canons of traditional journalism: the thirst for narrative, the impulse to “balance,” the desire for novelty. So, for example, Mr. Trump’s avalanche of lies, threats, mental breakdowns, ignorant outbursts, racist winks, incitements to violence and so on, any one of which would sink any other candidate, pass without comment on the grounds that they are “not news.”
    >
    >…
    >
    >It was all rubbish, of course. There’s no evidence the shooter was influenced by anything more than the desire to get his name in the papers. The incident has had no appreciable effect on the polls. The pose, and the chant – fight whom? fight what? – were the usual meaningless posturing, a moment of instinctive self-dramatization and nothing more. (Likewise the photo: it was prettily composed, but so what?) The problem facing America, last, is not a lack of “unity.” It is that one of the parties has lost its mind. It has surrendered itself utterly to a con man and psychopath, who has turned it into a machine for dictatorship. It is not “turning up the heat” to point this out. It is turning on the lights.
    >
    >But narrative demanded otherwise. Narrative dictated the storyline, of the hero, brought low, rising undaunted. Narrative demanded that he be applauded for his courage. Narrative demanded that we all learn a sobering lesson. And narrative demanded that the hero, saved by a quirk of fate – or is it destiny? – emerge a changed man.
    >
    >If there were any prospect of Mr. Trump having changed, if there were any likelihood that he would have given up on his authoritarian project, if it were even possible to divert the Republican Party from the course it is now on, the convention would have been the place to offer evidence of that.
    >
    >But if the rhetoric was tempered – somewhat: Again, the party, like Mr. Trump, benefits from being graded on a curve – the underlying reality was not.
    >
    >…
    >
    >What you were watching was a dress rehearsal for what is in store for society at large. Already you can see potential sources of opposition – in business, in the media, even that Democratic Representative from Maine – considering their options. Do they really want to get offside with a man who will probably soon be the most powerful person on Earth – a man who has not been shy about abusing his power in the past, and seems to have shed any remaining reservations about abusing it in future?
    >
    >…
    >
    >And should Mr. Trump be elected, by fair means or foul, you may be sure something similar is planned for 2028. It isn’t that there will be no more elections, as such. They hold elections in Russia. It is that they will no longer be elections where the outcome is in much doubt.

    This looks to be a solid warning against complacency, even though as the election draws closer there may be an acceleration by some to look the other way or to make good with the potential next president. The consequences to the nation though, will be long-lasting. More people should be paying attention, and ideally asking questions about the details. And more importantly, folks should not be ignoring or minimizing the warnings that have already come forth over the past number of years.

    edit: word

  3. Vote Blue and make your vote loud that it pierces MAGA’s ears.

  4. Vote blue and hope the electoral college isn’t compromised.

  6. If you are holding out hope that there will be adults in the room to curb Trump’s worst impulse think about it this way: none of his cabinet are returning. Vance was picked for his MAGA bona fides, Trump is term limited, he already shuffled sycophants into position in his last 4 months as president to overturn the election.

    Nothing says another Trump presidency will be restrained.

  7. There is a difference between panic and urgency.

    Presently, the left appears to be doing the former which is unhelpful as panic never improves situations.

  8. How are the democrats fumbling the bag this hard? I am definitely not remaining calm.

  9. Ok America, you’ve had your fun. Joke’s over, can you please vote seriously now? ngl, we’re starting to get a little bit freaked out here.

    – sincerely, most of the rest of the planet.

  10. I’m curious.  JD Vance said he would not have certified the results had he been VP in 2020.  If trump “wins” in 2024 why would Harris certify the results knowing republicans never will if a Democrat wins? 

  11. I hate these triggering articles. “Do not remain calm” shut the f_ck up. This is Canada … we have NO say in who the next US president is, but no, listen to this ass hat and get yourself all worked up and upset over things you can’t control 🤦🏻‍♂️

  13. I am very concerned for Canada right now. It can’t be easy living in a nation where you’re hoping the meth lab in your basement [read: United States] doesn’t explode.

  14. Donald Trump brings out the worst in people and if they gain power there no telling the damage they will do.

  16. It’s not enough to just vote, you need to tell everyone you know to vote too. If you have friends or family that don’t usually vote, it’s important that they show up this year

  18. No…

    WORSE.

    Mussolini worse.

    If not worse than that.

    VOTE BLUE, LIKE DEMOCRACY IS ON THE LINE – IT IS.

  19. The Republic is on the brink. It could not be worse.

  20. Republican Senators went from convincing Nixon to resign for trying to interfere in an election … to acquitting Trump for doing the same thing.

  21. The entire sad cast of characters will be back in your life and in the news 24/7. I don’t think as a nation we can handle this again.
    More lies, more foreign agents infiltrating the White House. Then there is Jared, and Stone, and Bannon. The shady lawyers, the golden White House, the pillow guy….and now Vance.

    Make America sane again. Vote Blue.

  22. If talking with “both sides bad” crowd who consider voting Trump, 3rd party, or not voting and seem to value moderation, just mention to them that if a Democrat wins, we’ll still have checks and balances with a Republican Senate and judiciary. If Trump wins, they’ll be no checks and balances. Extremism will rule. Mention the Supreme Court cases that already have signaled their preferred president can’t be practically be held accountable for criminal acts. Point them to Project2025 and Vance’s views on all of the executive branch having zero independence. If worried about inflation, mention it’s down to 3% now, and that while media likes to blame who’s currently in power, the lowest inflation we had was under Obama/Biden and Trump would have been worse during the global supply chain crisis. 

    https://www.wsj.com/economy/economists-say-inflation-would-be-worse-under-trump-than-biden-263bc900

  23. People really believe the military will refuse an illegal order, from a guy who controls their pensions. It has never been the case in any other society.

  24. “I’ll vote blue no matter who. So i will sleep fine when Trump wins”

    Great. Thats the current strategy for most people. Still got theocratic fascism. Any other awesome cards up your sleeves or is that enough for yall.

  25. Who the heck is calm about this election lol? Everything seems to be pandemonium.

  26. it will be worse, because this time Trump will be on the path of vengeance and will go after anyone that has slighted him. This man only has temporary friends and mortal enemies.

  28. “Trump is term limited”

    Until he decides to just bomb Iran because he doesn’t fucking care and will ride the “it’s war time, I must stay in power” train further down fascist lane.

    I mean shit, he would’ve done it even before finding out this week they were trying to assassinate him.

  29. AI Wargame computers have run conflict scenarios based on if Trump wins the US presidential election. The majority of the simulations end with Ukraine eventually capitulating. A large percentage also has the war spilling over to Europe and the U.S. withdrawing from NATO. What could seriously be worse than a NATO vs Russia-bloc conflict with the US standing neutral?

    It’s clear to see why Putin is bot-farming support for Trump in social media. Putin’s campaign expansionism won’t stop at Ukraine. (He’s looking at you, Balkan states.)

  32. Wow. Not even hiding it anymore “BE AFRAID, LISTEN TO YOUR BETTERS, DO NOT THINK FOR YOURSELF” The absolute state of the media.

  33. Seeing the picture made me think that Trump winning would mean that Canada invades

  34. Anyone taking bets on Vance having Trump murdered and taking over?

  36. It will be much, much worse. He is planning to put immigrants numbering comparable to the population of Belgium in camps. Your local cops will scoop them up. Your community will be transformed. They will scoop up anyone brown, veterans and citizens alike- which happened last time.

    Thats just 1 thing

  37. Dangerous talk. First of all, people are already in out right hysteria and hysterics, pushing cockamie plans to oust Biden, instead of supporting him and the Democrats.

    There’s a difference between acknowledging the danger of Trump and WORKING to ensure that Democrats win. And this outright call from the media to be hysterical and dive into doommerism

  38. If Trump wins, shut down the economy.

    Protest in every street every day. 

    Do not accept Christian rule. 

  39. Just a response to the headline. What am I supposed to do? Vote harder and panic?

  41. What a stupid headline.

    I’ll remain calm and vote, thank you. I don’t need them telling me to stop taking my anxiety medications and freak out over shit that is mostly outside of my control if it goes down.

    Again, I’ll vote and do what I can. Nothing is worth losing your sanity over.

  42. Please vote for the Democratic candidate. This is not business as usual. This is horrifying shit. Trump is a man that the founding fathers never wanted to be president, let alone stand at a podium and give a speech of any kind. Dude is an evil narcissist who just wants to not go to jail. Project 2025 lays it all out. There’s no questioning his motives 

  43. Lol, “Do not remain calm” followed by a paywall is a sure sign of a shit-tier clickbait site. They don’t give a single fuck about your well-being. So remain calm.

  44. It will be worse. With the SCOTUS decision and having learned how to do things right the first time and knowing he has gotten away with everything , he will be bigger, bolder and badder.

  45. It’s strange to view the US as an outsider. On one level, Trump is basically Putin’s man. So by electing Donald Trump, the US is basically putting the US back into Putin’s hands. Trump is his vehicle to further Russia’s interests.

    That’s bad enough, especially with the war in Ukraine, but Russia had its man in the big chair in 2016 and for four years after, and though the world was a slightly more dangerous place, it didn’t end.

    A Trump victory will probably mean defeat for Ukraine and maybe even the end for Taiwan, but that’s not the end of it.

    The issue is that the US is closer to unrest now than it was in 2016, and the far-right coalition of fascists and Christian nationalists and white nationalists are far more organised, far more ambitious, and far more prepared for power than they were in 2016. Trump is also their man. And that’s the bad thing, because once they get power they’re not giving it up easily. The US is sleepwalking into an authoritarian dictatorship, or civil war/the breaking of the United States, or all of the above.

    The eradication of rights to Abortion, contraception, interracial marriage, the end of marital rape as a concept, a targeted reduction in women’s rights more generally, mass deportations, detention camps, the increased use of the 13th amendment to imprison segments of the population to enhance slavery through the backdoor, the perverse marriage of Christian theocracy with deregulated, billionaire plutocracy – that’s the future for the US if people don’t stand up to the US Right.

    It’s not hyperbole, it’s not hysterics, it’s the cold harsh truth. We’ve seen this across the world, in Europe, in Russia, across Asia and Africa, but there’s still a sense of anglophone/American exceptionalism that democracies only die in banana republics and third world countries, as if it couldn’t happen in America – but it is happening, and in real time.

    And with the death of democracy in the US, fascism and anti-democratic forces all over the world are going to have the momentum. If it’s true that when the US sneezes, the world gets a cold, then a far-right, anti-democracy US is a nightmare.

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