Tag: Tyrant Trump

By Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

It appears as though a path may have been chosen. I have long believed that because Reds are politically ascendant that it would be Blues that ultimately either left the Union or otherwise caused the United States to buckle.

The datapoint that I am using to suggest that Blues are restless is that it seems as though a lot of Blues have given up on Twitter. That seems to be an indication that some sort of psychological cleaving is taking place in the nation at last.

And it’s only going get worse once dumb and lazy Trump is actually president. If he goes full tyrant right away, then a lot of the scenarios I’ve come up with that sound rather hysterical now may come true. If Trump was a true “great man” then, yeah, I could imagine him transitioning the country pretty adeptly into the fascist state that obviously about half the country wants it to be.

But Trump is an idiot.

Or, put another way — if something happens to Trump and J.D. Vance is doing the transition, then it will be pretty smooth. But Trump is so stupid and lazy that if he really does act like a dictator from day one — oh boy. Things could get really hectic really quick.

MAGA has a number of problems ahead of it when it comes to trying to consolidate power. The chief among them is how decentralized the country is. And Trump has made it clear that he’s prepared to use Red State National Guard on Blue States if they act up.

That is a recipe for disaster, if ever there was one.

What this all means, I don’t know. All I know is the *conditions* for something dramatic to happen exist. The Blues have a lot going for them if there is a direct match up between them and the Reds.

It seems to me that it would be more a matter of Blues deposing Trump as opposed to secession. That would, in turn, cause a secession crisis because Red States would get mad and leave the Union.

The point is — it’s at least possible that some rather astonishing things might happen to the United States in the next few months. Trump has repeatedly — REPEATEDLY — told us exactly what he plans to do.

He wants to rule as a dictator and if he does there’s going to be a reaction somewhere. And that doesn’t even begin to address what he plans to do with his new dictatorial bent. He’s going to attempt to round up 20 million people and kick them out of the country.

That, unto itself, could potentially cause the country to buckle.

And, there is, of course, the more personal issue of ME getting in trouble because of the return of Trumplandia. I really want to leave the country and never return. But, alas, I’m just too poor.

So, I guess I just wait for the knock on the door by ICE or the FBI or whomever.

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

The thing that really worries me is about a second Trump administration is how people will react when his tyrannical inclinations are no longer abstract. What happens when he actually starts to be a dictator?

Now, if Trump wasn’t so fucking stupid and lazy, I would say that he could easily transition the United States directly into a MAGA autocracy without any problems. But, Trump is really stupid and lazy and he’s probably going to be very ham-handed in any transition of the USA from failing democracy to full-fledged autocracy.

Here’s what I think will happen in a Trump second term — he’s probably going to rule by executive order. If the House is Democratic, he is probably going to be repeatedly impeached for various things and the Senate will lulz it to the point that we’re all rolling our eyes about how many times they have tried to get rid of Trump.

Meanwhile, about 1 million wealthy, smug liberals are going to flee the country soon after Trump is elected. This brain drain is going to get so bad that Trump is going to lock the country down. I think there’s going to be a shocking change in TV content — specifically late night TV.

Late night TV is going to be neutered in one fell swoop. That is going to be a change that the average person that maybe isn’t all that interested in politics will notice.

Now, all of this will happen in the context of potential uprisings in Blue States over Trump literally being a tyrant. This is where things get fuzzy and murky. I just can’t game out what will happen relative to the U.S. Military.

Will they follow Trump’s orders, or will they balk and sit on their hands? It seems pretty clear that Trump is going to force the issue of civilian – military relations to the breaking point.

That is when things will get really interesting because I simply can’t tell you what might happen. It could be that using the military on domestic opponents will be a bridge too far and they simply ignore whatever Trump has to say.

If that happens, then it could be that either the military collapses or Trump leans into paramilitary groups to do his bidding.

I just don’t know. I just hope the motherfucker doesn’t become president. That’s all I got at this point.

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

There are so many elements of Trump’s potential tyranny on a practical basis that we just don’t know the endgame of. What will be the reaction of Blue States if Trump goes full tyrant and does all these bonkers things he keeps ranting about?

One thing I find myself thinking about way too much these days is what the U.S. Military will do.

If Trump really goes full tyrant…I just don’t know. If Trump demands that the U.S. Military do patently illegal and political things domestically against the Blues…oh boy. There is a greater-than-zero chance that they — or least the officer corp — will balk at such a move.

Do I think Trump might be “deposed” in some way? I just don’t know. Probably not. But if Trump *is* re-elected, holy shit are we in for a type of political turbulence we’ve not seen since 1865.

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

One thing I’ve noticed about a lot of the liberal, hand wringing think pieces about any possible impending Trump second term is how abstract they are. They don’t really get into the nitty-gritty of what the reaction in Blue states might be if Trump went “full tyrant.”

Now, if Trump is all talk and is more Victor Orban in his autocracy, then I think he will be fine. He will lay the cornerstone for an autocratic state that will probably last for the rest of my life. We will continue to have “elections” but they will be anything but free and or fair.

My fear is, of course, that Trump is so dumb and bonkers that he goes full hard tyrant and does such crazy shit that the country buckles in some way. If Trump canceled, say, the midterms or the 2028 elections, then that would be….oh boy, a bridge too far for most people Red or Blue.

Or if he really did gather up 20 million undocumented people, put them in camps and started to deport them. That would be something, on a practical basis, that a lot of Blue states simply would not stand for. And that doesn’t even begin to address what might happen if, say, Trump started to use Red National Guard troops on the populations of Blue States.

That kind of “hard” tyranny is the kind of stuff that gives me pause for thought. The country would be shaken to its core in a way not seen sense the American Civil War. I have pondered some “legalistic” ways Trump might be deposed by the military, but, alas, I don’t even think that would help much because Trump would replace too much of the leadership of the military.

The point is — if Trump wins, the US could buckle in a pretty dramatic fashion. And if Blues were able to successfully depose Trump, that would only set the stage for a civil war, with Red states leaving the Union in protest. So, for everyone’s sake, I think some situation where Trump loses and simply drifts off into the political darkness would be the best for everyone involved.

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I would like to think that maybe the United States can make it through the next few months without, in some way, collapsing. I say this in the context of it could be that no matter who wins, some pretty horrific shit might happen. If Trump loses, he could go “full tyrant” to the point that the country collapses because Blues refuse to take his shit anymore.

At this point, I’m just really perplexed about what may happen one way or another. I just don’t know.

I do feel, in general, a deep sense of unease.

I keep thinking about the specifics of how and why I might become a domestic political refugee. Like, how might it specifically happen. My guess is because my politics are well known enough that someone will knock on my door and tell me I need to leave my home — or else.

Or, I suppose, things could get kind of “hot” for me in my area to the point where I make the move to leave on my own, even though no one outright tells me I need to leave.

I keep imagining there being refugee camps in places like the rural parts of PA, upstate NY and maybe Maine. Those seem like the types of places such camps would arise if there came a need for them.

Or something like that. I just don’t know. And I really don’t like the uncertainty of it all.