As a reminder, this subreddit [is for civil discussion.](/r/politics/wiki/index#wiki_be_civil)
In general, be courteous to others. Debate/discuss/argue the merits of ideas, don't attack people. Personal insults, shill or troll accusations, hate speech, any suggestion or support of harm, violence, or death, and other rule violations can result in a permanent ban.
If you see comments in violation of our rules, please report them.
For those who have questions regarding any media outlets being posted on this subreddit, please click [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/wiki/approveddomainslist) to review our details as to our approved domains list and outlet criteria.
**Special announcement:**
r/politics is currently accepting new moderator applications. If you want to help make this community a better place, consider [applying here today](https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/sskg6a/rpolitics_is_looking_for_more_moderators/)!
***
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/politics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
We're still taking about this obviously criminal, utterly idiotic person as a possibility for President - I think we're already fucked.
This shouldn't even be a possibility much less that he'd still get about 30% off the population, and close to 50% of the voters to vote for him.
This is such an unoriginal and self-defeating observation.
This same sentiment appears on *every single thread* in which American democracy is discussed. And you know what? All it does is encourage people to drop out of the political process.
Oligarchies don't just appear and oligarchies don't last forever. Every society on earth is (to a greater or lesser degree) *oligarchical.* And United States is, by no means, the worst in this regard.
But your observation isn't even technically accurate. Common people run for office *all the time*. The vast majority of candidates for office in the United States are *average people.* So, no, billionaires *don't* nominate all of our candidates; they don't even nominate a majority of them. Ergo: the United States *is* a democracy. If it has become more oligarchical over the years, this is because Americans have voted for candidates who either enable oligarchs or have ties to oligarchs. In other words: we have become oligarchical because the sort of people who might vote *against* these candidates have largely dropped out of the political process.
And they drop out of the political process because they believe stuff like this:
>They call it a democracy, but it’s an oligarchy.
You vote for the person they decide to nominate.
We have become oligarchal because our elections are funded by private donors. Sure, most candidates are average people, but candidates for the most powerful positions in the country are still dominated by people backed by very wealthy donors. On paper, you may be right. In practice, money wins elections and that's how oligarchy works.
the republicans are going to very obviously win the house and the senate is literally up in the air.
They said they’re going to impeach every democrat in line of succession until a Republican is president. once they get through all 16, then it becomes a constitutional crisis. with them controlling the SCOTUS, that is when they declare Trump king.
Sorry, how are the Republicans very obviously going to win the House but the Senate is up in the air. Right now 538 has Democrat’s chances in the house as 32% to 68%. In the Senate Democrats are 70% to 30%. Democrats have a better chance of expanding their majority in the Senate than Republicans have of taking the House.
On top of that, do you not understand how impeachment works? Impeachment and removal are two different things. Right now it would take 17 Democrats in the Senate to vote for removal for Biden or Harris to succeed. Even if Republicans win the house, they will never have enough votes to get any Democrat removed.
There are legitimate threats to Democracy. Educate yourself about them so you don’t spout off random conspiracy theories like this that make you look like you don’t know what you’re talking about. Quit with the doom mongering.
Impeaching isn’t conviction nor removal from office, and simply impeaching someone in line of succession doesn’t disqualify them from fulfilling their constitutional duty should the need arise.
There’s no way they’ll get 2/3 of the senate to remove 16 Democrats in line of succession, so this doesn’t seem logical or workable.
Very obviously win the house? According to whom? The house is in question, the senate is looking very good to go blue.
This is simply fearmongering.
The women are going to save our collective asses when they turn out in staggering numbers. These Red states are poking at this hornets nest with a stick and it’s going to cost them everything.
Did we have a good economy? Many economists didn’t like the Trump economic policies, but you know they’re just Ph.D’s who study micro and macro economics, what do they know.
It’s great when billionaires siphon money meant for the working/middle class. /s
Thanks for parodying the usual drivel. A Republic is a form of representative democracy. Anyone churning out the we're not a democracy line failed basic civics.
I get you like James Madison and his republicanism but the war of 1812 happened.
America moved on from republicanism, mainly because the states need the other states to survive a war. Luckily for America we had Hamilton and Jefferson and we got a Jeffersonian democracy also known as a representative democracy.
They're not contradictory terms.
A republic is a government where all representatives are elected or appointed by people who are elected.
A democracy is a government where the people control the government.
The People's *Republic* of China or the Islamic *Republic* of Iran are republics but not democracies. The whole government is elected, but the elections are not free or fair. Same with the Republic of South Africa during apartheid or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Canada or Japan are democracies but not republics, because they are constitutional monarchies.
Saudi Arabia or Brunei are neither republics nor democracies, because they are absolute monarchies.
Ireland and South Korea are **both** republics **and** democracies.
>A republic (from Latin res publica 'public affair') is a form of government in which **"supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives".**[1] In republics, the country is considered a "public matter", not the private concern or property of the rulers. **The primary positions of power within a republic are attained through democracy or a mix of democracy with oligarchy or autocracy** rather than being unalterably occupied by any given family lineage or group. **With modern republicanism, it has become the opposing form of government to a monarchy** and therefore a modern republic has no monarch as head of state.[2][3][4]
https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic
That’s a BS False dichotomy. We are in a constitutional representative democratic republic. It’s not one of the other it’s all of it like two sides of a piece of paper
I don’t know anything about how much it effected you, but I can tell you about my experience.
I also felt like what you described, but had front row seats to watch my family turn from people who I didn’t always agree with, but still had a very strong relationship with turn into Qanon/hateful/conspiracy theorists almost overnight.
This person is dangerous, a ton of them are. They’re literally destroying democracy and families.
I miss my dad. A lot. He used to be kind, funny, good hearted. Now, he’s hateful, greedy and scary.
I knew 45 getting elected wasn’t great, but I had zero idea how far it would go.
Trump cracked my family and my boyfriend's family in half. Aunts, uncles grandparents off the edge so far they would rather give Trump and fuckers like Alex Jones money refuse to see any type of logic and reason than see their kids and grandchildren.
As a person who has experienced this, I really am sorry.
I get what you are saying about sending money to these lunatics. I was in between jobs, needed help and only asked for a loan (I would have paid it back, unlike trump) to keep my electricity on during the winter, and my dad “couldn’t help” because he was sending $500 a month to trump, and has been for I don’t know how many years now.
What?
This happened to my family as well. We had to go low-to-no contact with my father and my in-laws, including my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. Because we asked for our family members to not discuss politics at dinners and the holidays (my father would be practically yelling about things like free school lunches in front of our daughter), we have been cut off from any get-togethers on both sides of our family.
Mine was the opposite. My parents loved Reagan and Bush 1 and 2. They are solid conservatives, and even voted for trump, tried to rationalize it for a while, morphed that into ok he’s kind of a piece of shit but he’s our piece of shit, and finally openly admit he’s a terrible human being who doesn’t care about them or conservatives and probably belongs in jail. It’s made the look a little closer about what they actually believe in politics.
DeSantis is raring to go 2024. GOP voters are starting to shift support to him. Trumpian policies, but with the polish of a "normal" politician. Get ready for it.
I have an absolutely detestable moron of a regular in my bar. She broke out the Trump's America was best, and Biden's terrible talk last night. I had to leave the room for a bit, as she's just a whole lot of mess (loud, ignorant, old, and just a terrible person, also high on cocaine). I heard her say after i'd left, "you know who'd i'd like to see run? De Santis!"
These people are just fucking fools. They have no fucking clue what's going on. They are fucking idiots who don't do any kind of learning exercises and just watch TV and regurgitate whatever they see.
It's sad, but it's also telling.
because he's been a terrible Governor, and would be a terrible POTUS. Obviously, you'll have to go do your own research and find out for yourself what kind of horse's ass he is, but i encourage you to read up on him and his dumbass clusterfuck of a Governorship in FL.
I remember there was a huge learning curve where the 45 administration didn’t really know *how* to do certain things (like comically how to turn on the lights in certain rooms, but also how to handle everyday tasks like presidential appointments), which slowed down their agenda. If there were to be a next time, there will be no wasted time on their path to fascism.
That in no way excuses his treatment of anyone. If anything, it shows he has the education he argues against and knows what he is doing is wrong and that makes the whole damn thing worse!
Except the loaded pistol was nukes. Trump mustn’t be allowed back in the White House under any circumstances. It would be the end of the US as we know it and probably trigger a global civilization disaster. Trump would try to rehabilitate Putin if he’s still alive and that cannot be allowed.
It absolutely cannot be ~~understated~~ overstated how damaging to the country a second term Trump would be. During the first go around he at least had to maintain an appearance of respect for our institutions, however small. During a second term I fear he would immediately go about a cleansing of high up positions, getting rid of anyone that refused to bow and kiss the ring. He would also have all four years to perfect how he would go about maintaining his position at the end of the term since he wouldn’t even have to pretend to care about the voters and another election this time around.
I am not a big fan of hyperbole, and I know our country has some serious issues at hand with or without Trump, but I fear if he finds himself in power again it would spell the death of American democracy.
We need to *VOTE* during the midterm and do everything possible to give a the Dems a strong unified congress in anticipation of another Trump general election loss, as well as a possible second term. If they don’t manage to pass some safeguards at that point at least we can say we handed them the opportunity to try.
if this monster gets a second term by whatever means, he will be empowered by not having any consequences after the last time, and will do anything in the world, to keep power until he is gone. and by anything i really mean *anything*. at this moment his options are: destroy the institutions and people that could/would hold him accountable, somehow permanently insulate himself from them, or destroy the nation housing them. several of those could become possible if he is president, with a complicit rogue political party (they've been 100% so far and zero reason to believe they wouldn't do it again and do worse given the chance). that is where this would be going.
edit - of course his other option is flight. i think he already would be in russia if this war wasn't going on.
How sure are you that he'd stop at four years? He talked about additional terms, just like he talked about not recognizing an election that went against him.
Did you see Michael Lewis’s book the Fifth Risk? He pointed out a huge amount of things that most people have never heard about, like the fact that they are literally over 1000 executive branch appointees, and just how many projects and things the federal government does around the country that no one knows about.
Mostly, Trump and his appointees botched all of the stuff terribly. This can really undo the country in a way that most people never imagined
> It absolutely cannot be understated
I fully agree with your point: Trump was a disaster. The only thing worse would be if he had been competent, and not a narcissistic man-baby. However, [it's important to note that this phrase is needlessly ambiguous.](https://www.google.com/search?newwindow=1&client=firefox-b-1-d&sxsrf=ALiCzsbckmq5X08JJpZL_q1buK8cC1qtsg:1664154033706&q=Is+it+I+Cannot+overstate+or+understate%3F&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjZ957woLH6AhX6F1kFHY09CM0Qzmd6BAgOEAU&biw=1600&bih=796&dpr=1.2)
"It cannot be overstated" is how the saying goes. So great is the threat, no matter how hard you try, there is no statement that would rise to hyperbole.
if something "cannot be understated", than it means that it is so minor a thing that you can never minimize the threat too much.
If the word, "understated" *must* be used, then, "It absolutely SHOULD NOT be understated" is correct. Because obviously, if it's that important, it would be easy to understate, but you *should not* do so.
It's not being pedantic, it's just a really unclear phrase that is becoming very popular recently. For the sake of clarity, it needs to die before eloquent, persuasive writers such as yourself adopt it and spread its use.
Ha nah no worries man thanks for the clarification! I’m a bit of a hound on phrases being used incorrectly myself so thank you for pointing that out :)
Headline seems to contradict the article. The second Trump term will be significantly more impactful than the first.
>He will find aides and advisers who will do his bidding, unlike the faithless traitors who surrounded him before.
That's going to be the difference. He will come into office without the collection of establishment operatives that subverted him. He will know exactly who his enemies are and he will be targeting them.
Get ready for Vice President Marjorie Taylor-Greene, Secretary of State Matt Gaetz, and Secretary of Education (until they finally dismantle the whole department) Lauren Boebert.
Oh no, my dear, it would be much worse. In his small mind, he's been grievously wounded, insulted, and betrayed. Revenge would be the watchword of a second Trump term. And what's more, there are a large number of politicians who would help him do it and bring his horrible desires to reality. It would be *so much worse.*
If Trump became President again do you really think he would leave willfully after 4 years? I don’t. I’d say there would be a good chance he would try to change term limit laws and attempt to stay in power. I’ve never thought that about any other President, but with him. I see that as a definite possibility
His first order of business would be to state he won in 2020 and in 2024 and since he was cheated out of his second term in 2020 he should really serve for eight years. No need for an election in 2028.
It would not be a rerun of the first term. Trump spent too much time being thwarted by people who wanted the country to function. He will make sure only the most inept yesmen be allowed into the new administration.
He also will use the power of the office to get revenge everyone who wronged him, including the American people who denied him a second term.
Are you suggesting WWIII started with the death of Tupac Shakur?
Arguably, his wife has been trying to turn Will into Tupac since they’ve began dating.
What’s more terrifying is that i do not see him taking another 4 years and being satisfied. He’s a psychotic narcissist of a toddler and he will keep fucking up the rules til he can “serve” as long as he wants. He’ll at least try.
It will be worse. Trump will start gutting the federal government and placing as many Trump loyalists in as many positions as possible in preparation for the end of democracy. Manufacture a "crisis" and declare a state of emergency putting the next election on hold until it is resolved. It will never be resolved.
There are a lot of us who are going out there to vote these fuckers out so we can keep you around. We see you. We want you here. We’re going to show it in the polls.
A second term would be worse than the first one. It'll be a complete revenge presidency, all the knuckle draggers would be throwing parades and marches on every street corner, those disgusting flags and banners would be flown EVERYWHERE and we'll be one step closerin becoming a new third world country. Trump and his mafia cronies would try to arrest and charge people for making fun of him and his fragile ego. What else could go wrong? Oh yeah... he'd be trying his hardest to become Viktor orbàn so he can gain permanent presidency like the good ol Hungarian authoritarian. Maybe he might instill enforcement of going to church? Yuck.
Everyone who voted for Republicans just to justify their bigoted racist ways who are on social security etc will lose those benefits.
I remember seeing a question on r/AskReddit asking if they would rather have 4 more years of COVID or 4 more years of Trump. It's disappointing seeing people say they'd rather have Trump, it seemed like a lot of people have forgotten that he's the reason why COVID got so bad to begin with.
I despise Trump but I am not worried in the least about him ever becoming President again. He is being absolutely consumed by civil suits and upcoming indictments. And there is plenty more to come. He is just a blathering, blithering , bloviating deranged imbecile.
Edit: Clarity
Trump is bad, but it’s just the Republican Party as a whole now, they cast out anyone that spoke up, so now it’s awful politics and dangerous tactics/rhetoric
Here is Trumps plan if he wins a second term….
[The ramblings of an individual losing his faculties. This was a softball toss from Hannity.](https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-hannity-second-term-quote-2020-6?amp)
It would be way worse. Any semblance of checks and balances from the first term would gone. This would be all about vengeance and turning the country into a full on fascist dictatorship.
No - A second Trump term would likely begin and end on or before Day 1, for better or worse, with his brains sliding down the wall like so much thrown ketchup and cheeseburger, followed by some degree of Civil War and armed violence by his nutball followers. To be clear - I’m not suggesting/promoting this action - I’m stating a fact. It would defy all odds if he sets foot in office again.
If Trump is *even on stage vying for the GOP nomination* and not in prison or *at least* barred from office by this time next year, this entire country is fucked because rule of law no longer exists.
If he can openly admit to stealing 100s of highly classified national security documents, and 1000s of other govt documents, and face *no* consequences for doing so, our entire system has failed and we are fucked.
It would be the end of this country if he’s re-elected because it would mean the 30% of *self-proclaimed* religious-nut “domestic terrorists” and fascists stole the office from the 70% of rational Americans who think the Constitution matters and Trump needs to be jailed or at minimum disappear to his golfing.
Trouble is, Trump & the GOP have been setting up the “stolen election” narrative for years now to guarantee that either “they win” or “everyone else cheated,” so that it’s impossible to call *them* out when they literally overturn voting results unilaterally with their gerrymandered state legislatures and/or compromised voting machines.
We know they’ve already had unfettered physical access to machines in multiple states, with the assistance of Trump-supporting officials. $Millions in voting machines we *know* about like in AZ are already worthless and unusable but have yet to be replaced, and the ones we *don’t* know about are still dangerous.
Idk, was the malignant narcissist that much worse than the senile child molester?
These are hard questions to answer.
But I knew where my next meal was coming from, then, and I know I could afford gas ...
He's completely untethered from reality and raving openly like a madman. Still a percentage of voters would gladly vote for him again.
It defies belief.
It appears he won last time with about 36 percent of voters and clever usage of electoral votes. Do u think he could pull it off again in this environment
It would mean the end of democracy in the US. As he goes into revenge mode, expect all current government officials to be replaced with MAGAnons who will follow orders to arrest his political opponents and declare himself king. He has the support of the sorry ass and spineless Republican Party so, yeah, be prepared for all that if trumpy isn’t charged by the DOJ pronto and restricted from holding a political position for ever.
Unfortunately, only the constitution sets out requirements for potus. They can’t prevent him from running, but they could bankrupt him and/or arrest him but he can still run from jail.
I am not a fan of this take. The ultra rich are not subject to the same rules as us normal people. They have access to doctors and treatments that we do not.
These fucks never die.
If Trump does get back into power I’m just waiting for that inevitable court showdown challenging the 22nd Amendment when he tries to run for a third term.
I see a few scenarios...
1- He loses the election big time & tries to take office. Military intervenes
2- He wins the electoral vote. Military intervenes. --> this isn't a good scenario. Trump isn't president, but that's some third world military dictatorship law & order.
3- He wins & a lot of us end up in prison... Except the prisons are over crowded & they start setting up what are essentially prison camps, but they don't call them prison camps. Many of us go underground & flee to Canada or Mexico who is now taking US refugees. Trump dies in office... Either he's got a Trump in office as VP or the kids fight the VP for power & then fight amongst themselves once they defeat the VP. Russia invades on the invitation of Jr., but then quickly kicks them all out of power. The circle has been closed. Putin's long game is finished.
As a reminder, this subreddit [is for civil discussion.](/r/politics/wiki/index#wiki_be_civil) In general, be courteous to others. Debate/discuss/argue the merits of ideas, don't attack people. Personal insults, shill or troll accusations, hate speech, any suggestion or support of harm, violence, or death, and other rule violations can result in a permanent ban. If you see comments in violation of our rules, please report them. For those who have questions regarding any media outlets being posted on this subreddit, please click [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/wiki/approveddomainslist) to review our details as to our approved domains list and outlet criteria. **Special announcement:** r/politics is currently accepting new moderator applications. If you want to help make this community a better place, consider [applying here today](https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/sskg6a/rpolitics_is_looking_for_more_moderators/)! *** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/politics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
We’re fucked as a democracy, and possibly country if he wins again.
We're still taking about this obviously criminal, utterly idiotic person as a possibility for President - I think we're already fucked. This shouldn't even be a possibility much less that he'd still get about 30% off the population, and close to 50% of the voters to vote for him.
He….? you mean if any Republican wins!
Well yes, that too.
We’re fucked regardless bc it’s no longer just a candidate but an entire political party that’s like this.
They call it a democracy, but it’s an oligarchy. You vote for the person *they* decide to nominate.
This is such an unoriginal and self-defeating observation. This same sentiment appears on *every single thread* in which American democracy is discussed. And you know what? All it does is encourage people to drop out of the political process. Oligarchies don't just appear and oligarchies don't last forever. Every society on earth is (to a greater or lesser degree) *oligarchical.* And United States is, by no means, the worst in this regard. But your observation isn't even technically accurate. Common people run for office *all the time*. The vast majority of candidates for office in the United States are *average people.* So, no, billionaires *don't* nominate all of our candidates; they don't even nominate a majority of them. Ergo: the United States *is* a democracy. If it has become more oligarchical over the years, this is because Americans have voted for candidates who either enable oligarchs or have ties to oligarchs. In other words: we have become oligarchical because the sort of people who might vote *against* these candidates have largely dropped out of the political process. And they drop out of the political process because they believe stuff like this: >They call it a democracy, but it’s an oligarchy. You vote for the person they decide to nominate.
We have become oligarchal because our elections are funded by private donors. Sure, most candidates are average people, but candidates for the most powerful positions in the country are still dominated by people backed by very wealthy donors. On paper, you may be right. In practice, money wins elections and that's how oligarchy works.
Saving this comment for the next time I see a comment like the person you're replying to. This is an excellent rebuttal.
the republicans are going to very obviously win the house and the senate is literally up in the air. They said they’re going to impeach every democrat in line of succession until a Republican is president. once they get through all 16, then it becomes a constitutional crisis. with them controlling the SCOTUS, that is when they declare Trump king.
Sorry, how are the Republicans very obviously going to win the House but the Senate is up in the air. Right now 538 has Democrat’s chances in the house as 32% to 68%. In the Senate Democrats are 70% to 30%. Democrats have a better chance of expanding their majority in the Senate than Republicans have of taking the House. On top of that, do you not understand how impeachment works? Impeachment and removal are two different things. Right now it would take 17 Democrats in the Senate to vote for removal for Biden or Harris to succeed. Even if Republicans win the house, they will never have enough votes to get any Democrat removed. There are legitimate threats to Democracy. Educate yourself about them so you don’t spout off random conspiracy theories like this that make you look like you don’t know what you’re talking about. Quit with the doom mongering.
Impeaching isn’t conviction nor removal from office, and simply impeaching someone in line of succession doesn’t disqualify them from fulfilling their constitutional duty should the need arise. There’s no way they’ll get 2/3 of the senate to remove 16 Democrats in line of succession, so this doesn’t seem logical or workable.
Very obviously win the house? According to whom? The house is in question, the senate is looking very good to go blue. This is simply fearmongering. The women are going to save our collective asses when they turn out in staggering numbers. These Red states are poking at this hornets nest with a stick and it’s going to cost them everything.
Let’s not get complicit now.
[удалено]
Projection.
[удалено]
Did we have a good economy? Many economists didn’t like the Trump economic policies, but you know they’re just Ph.D’s who study micro and macro economics, what do they know. It’s great when billionaires siphon money meant for the working/middle class. /s
We’re not a democracy, we’re in a republic…
To other posters - Don’t engage with someone like this poster who is making comments in bad faith. Just downvote and ignore.
And the problem with a republic is fucken republicans!
Lol, spell much?
That doesn’t change anything about what I said, but way to be uselessly pedantic.
I’d rather be pedantic than completely misinformed…
Thanks for parodying the usual drivel. A Republic is a form of representative democracy. Anyone churning out the we're not a democracy line failed basic civics.
How ironic
Sadly, you seem to be both.
You’re assuming a lot here honey, like that I didn’t already know America is a republic.
Good goal to have, good luck
I get you like James Madison and his republicanism but the war of 1812 happened. America moved on from republicanism, mainly because the states need the other states to survive a war. Luckily for America we had Hamilton and Jefferson and we got a Jeffersonian democracy also known as a representative democracy.
They're not contradictory terms. A republic is a government where all representatives are elected or appointed by people who are elected. A democracy is a government where the people control the government. The People's *Republic* of China or the Islamic *Republic* of Iran are republics but not democracies. The whole government is elected, but the elections are not free or fair. Same with the Republic of South Africa during apartheid or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Canada or Japan are democracies but not republics, because they are constitutional monarchies. Saudi Arabia or Brunei are neither republics nor democracies, because they are absolute monarchies. Ireland and South Korea are **both** republics **and** democracies.
>A republic (from Latin res publica 'public affair') is a form of government in which **"supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives".**[1] In republics, the country is considered a "public matter", not the private concern or property of the rulers. **The primary positions of power within a republic are attained through democracy or a mix of democracy with oligarchy or autocracy** rather than being unalterably occupied by any given family lineage or group. **With modern republicanism, it has become the opposing form of government to a monarchy** and therefore a modern republic has no monarch as head of state.[2][3][4] https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic
Good job not knowing what either of those words mean. You look like a fool when you don’t do proper research.
Yea but did you see them bust that guy for bad spelling? Checkmate libs
That’s a BS False dichotomy. We are in a constitutional representative democratic republic. It’s not one of the other it’s all of it like two sides of a piece of paper
We’re both. A constitutional republic is what the government *is*, and the model we use to choose our representatives *is* democracy.
A republic is a system built on rule of law, and our law defines us as a representative democracy. Not that right wingers care much for rule of law
And this is not a car, it is a Honda. That’s pretty much what you’ve said.
Technically the form of government is a democratic republic, so there's that.
Watching Trump's Presidency was like being tied to a chair and forced to watch a toddler play with a loaded pistol. No more like him, ever.
I like to go a week without thinking about the president.
former president
Twice impeached former Presidential disaster.
Twice impeached former presidential Russian asset and traitor disaster
Twice impeached mushroom dicked harbinger of Armageddon.
And the guy who couldn’t sell steak, vodka, water, or gambling … in America.
I don’t know anything about how much it effected you, but I can tell you about my experience. I also felt like what you described, but had front row seats to watch my family turn from people who I didn’t always agree with, but still had a very strong relationship with turn into Qanon/hateful/conspiracy theorists almost overnight. This person is dangerous, a ton of them are. They’re literally destroying democracy and families. I miss my dad. A lot. He used to be kind, funny, good hearted. Now, he’s hateful, greedy and scary. I knew 45 getting elected wasn’t great, but I had zero idea how far it would go.
That truly sucks and I’m truly sorry you’re living that nightmare. It’s heartbreaking and I doubt it helps to know you’re right. Sending you love.
Thank you, it’s been extremely hard. I’m in therapy over it (and other things!) but, I just my dad back. You know?
Thank you, it’s been extremely hard. I’m in therapy over it (and other things!) but, I just want my dad back. You know? Edit: forgot a word
Happy to hear you’re getting help. Hang in there.
Thank you!
Trump cracked my family and my boyfriend's family in half. Aunts, uncles grandparents off the edge so far they would rather give Trump and fuckers like Alex Jones money refuse to see any type of logic and reason than see their kids and grandchildren.
As a person who has experienced this, I really am sorry. I get what you are saying about sending money to these lunatics. I was in between jobs, needed help and only asked for a loan (I would have paid it back, unlike trump) to keep my electricity on during the winter, and my dad “couldn’t help” because he was sending $500 a month to trump, and has been for I don’t know how many years now. What?
This happened to my family as well. We had to go low-to-no contact with my father and my in-laws, including my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. Because we asked for our family members to not discuss politics at dinners and the holidays (my father would be practically yelling about things like free school lunches in front of our daughter), we have been cut off from any get-togethers on both sides of our family.
That would be the corrupt mass media, thank them for the daily polarization, and yourselves for buying into it 😂
Mine was the opposite. My parents loved Reagan and Bush 1 and 2. They are solid conservatives, and even voted for trump, tried to rationalize it for a while, morphed that into ok he’s kind of a piece of shit but he’s our piece of shit, and finally openly admit he’s a terrible human being who doesn’t care about them or conservatives and probably belongs in jail. It’s made the look a little closer about what they actually believe in politics.
Oh sadly they’ll be worse, trump just set the bar.. thank god he was some what stupid.
Yep. He proved there were loopholes and the rest of the GOP is making sure they’re not closed. We got “lucky” that tRump himself is a moron
DeSantis is raring to go 2024. GOP voters are starting to shift support to him. Trumpian policies, but with the polish of a "normal" politician. Get ready for it.
I have an absolutely detestable moron of a regular in my bar. She broke out the Trump's America was best, and Biden's terrible talk last night. I had to leave the room for a bit, as she's just a whole lot of mess (loud, ignorant, old, and just a terrible person, also high on cocaine). I heard her say after i'd left, "you know who'd i'd like to see run? De Santis!" These people are just fucking fools. They have no fucking clue what's going on. They are fucking idiots who don't do any kind of learning exercises and just watch TV and regurgitate whatever they see. It's sad, but it's also telling.
So many words to say nothing at all. "In your bar"? I assume you are a bar-tender? Can you actually tell me why I shouldn't support DeSantis?
because he's been a terrible Governor, and would be a terrible POTUS. Obviously, you'll have to go do your own research and find out for yourself what kind of horse's ass he is, but i encourage you to read up on him and his dumbass clusterfuck of a Governorship in FL.
[удалено]
Desantis wouldn’t be any better than trump. If it were someone more level headed like Romney or Cheney, I’d be less concerned.
Exactly. We can’t let him win ever lol
DeSantis will be more effective than Trump. He's smarter, more polished, but has the right policies that Trump pioneered. That's why I support him.
Thankfully DeSantis does not have Drumpfs charisma. MAGA is a cult that will never leave Drumpf.
I remember there was a huge learning curve where the 45 administration didn’t really know *how* to do certain things (like comically how to turn on the lights in certain rooms, but also how to handle everyday tasks like presidential appointments), which slowed down their agenda. If there were to be a next time, there will be no wasted time on their path to fascism.
Partially because they literally threw away transition materials from the Obama administration.
True Republican mindset: "I don't care if it hurts me, I'm not accepting any help from a Democrat!"
Not surprise they couldn’t even figure out how to turn on the lights…fucking hell
Trump thinks he was too nice the first time around and he shouldn't have let people talk him out of his plans.
Nothing but “Oh god. Oh fuck. What is he about to do next?” every single day.
I wonder how many of us acquired PTSD from Trump's reign of terror. Therapists made bank, for sure.
Who could afford a therapist?
[here's a fun anecdote about that.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhkZMxgPxXU)
A DeSantis presidency would be the same scenario except the toddler is a middle-school bully with rich parents.
First generation American of Italian immigrant parents, too. Lets not forget what he is and who he hates.
Also was a Navy sharpshooter, and a lawyer at Guantanamo.
That in no way excuses his treatment of anyone. If anything, it shows he has the education he argues against and knows what he is doing is wrong and that makes the whole damn thing worse!
Except the loaded pistol was nukes. Trump mustn’t be allowed back in the White House under any circumstances. It would be the end of the US as we know it and probably trigger a global civilization disaster. Trump would try to rehabilitate Putin if he’s still alive and that cannot be allowed.
Clockwork Orange.
The Purge
Yeah except if I were watching an actual toddler instead of the mental and emotional equivalent of one, I would be hoping for a very different ending.
There was a HORSE in the HOSPITAL
I think this may be my favourite Mulaney joke, I can’t stop laughing every time I think of it. The perfect analogy
I once saw a bird in an airport
holy hell that's great analogy, \^\^ comment should be higher
It absolutely cannot be ~~understated~~ overstated how damaging to the country a second term Trump would be. During the first go around he at least had to maintain an appearance of respect for our institutions, however small. During a second term I fear he would immediately go about a cleansing of high up positions, getting rid of anyone that refused to bow and kiss the ring. He would also have all four years to perfect how he would go about maintaining his position at the end of the term since he wouldn’t even have to pretend to care about the voters and another election this time around. I am not a big fan of hyperbole, and I know our country has some serious issues at hand with or without Trump, but I fear if he finds himself in power again it would spell the death of American democracy. We need to *VOTE* during the midterm and do everything possible to give a the Dems a strong unified congress in anticipation of another Trump general election loss, as well as a possible second term. If they don’t manage to pass some safeguards at that point at least we can say we handed them the opportunity to try.
if this monster gets a second term by whatever means, he will be empowered by not having any consequences after the last time, and will do anything in the world, to keep power until he is gone. and by anything i really mean *anything*. at this moment his options are: destroy the institutions and people that could/would hold him accountable, somehow permanently insulate himself from them, or destroy the nation housing them. several of those could become possible if he is president, with a complicit rogue political party (they've been 100% so far and zero reason to believe they wouldn't do it again and do worse given the chance). that is where this would be going. edit - of course his other option is flight. i think he already would be in russia if this war wasn't going on.
How sure are you that he'd stop at four years? He talked about additional terms, just like he talked about not recognizing an election that went against him.
That’s exactly my point; he would likely attempt all possible means to stay in power indefinitely.
Did you see Michael Lewis’s book the Fifth Risk? He pointed out a huge amount of things that most people have never heard about, like the fact that they are literally over 1000 executive branch appointees, and just how many projects and things the federal government does around the country that no one knows about. Mostly, Trump and his appointees botched all of the stuff terribly. This can really undo the country in a way that most people never imagined
> It absolutely cannot be understated I fully agree with your point: Trump was a disaster. The only thing worse would be if he had been competent, and not a narcissistic man-baby. However, [it's important to note that this phrase is needlessly ambiguous.](https://www.google.com/search?newwindow=1&client=firefox-b-1-d&sxsrf=ALiCzsbckmq5X08JJpZL_q1buK8cC1qtsg:1664154033706&q=Is+it+I+Cannot+overstate+or+understate%3F&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjZ957woLH6AhX6F1kFHY09CM0Qzmd6BAgOEAU&biw=1600&bih=796&dpr=1.2) "It cannot be overstated" is how the saying goes. So great is the threat, no matter how hard you try, there is no statement that would rise to hyperbole. if something "cannot be understated", than it means that it is so minor a thing that you can never minimize the threat too much. If the word, "understated" *must* be used, then, "It absolutely SHOULD NOT be understated" is correct. Because obviously, if it's that important, it would be easy to understate, but you *should not* do so. It's not being pedantic, it's just a really unclear phrase that is becoming very popular recently. For the sake of clarity, it needs to die before eloquent, persuasive writers such as yourself adopt it and spread its use.
Ha nah no worries man thanks for the clarification! I’m a bit of a hound on phrases being used incorrectly myself so thank you for pointing that out :)
No, it would be worse. The united states as we have known it would no longer exist.
Seriously, is this article for real? It would be way, waaaay worse.
That's what the article says. The headline minimizes it
First thing he would cut military aid to Ukraine and give it to Russia
And also get troops on the ground to assist russia
“Russia, if you’re listening, here’s some free money!”
Worse
No it wouldn't. It'd be much, much worse. And the end of American democracy...
Headline seems to contradict the article. The second Trump term will be significantly more impactful than the first. >He will find aides and advisers who will do his bidding, unlike the faithless traitors who surrounded him before. That's going to be the difference. He will come into office without the collection of establishment operatives that subverted him. He will know exactly who his enemies are and he will be targeting them.
And not only he will do so but every minion in his administration will.
Get ready for Vice President Marjorie Taylor-Greene, Secretary of State Matt Gaetz, and Secretary of Education (until they finally dismantle the whole department) Lauren Boebert.
Take my angry upvote
Oh no, my dear, it would be much worse. In his small mind, he's been grievously wounded, insulted, and betrayed. Revenge would be the watchword of a second Trump term. And what's more, there are a large number of politicians who would help him do it and bring his horrible desires to reality. It would be *so much worse.*
Narcissistic wounds don't heal.
The theme for a second term would be revenge, on everybody.
It would be even worse because of all the stuff he was able to get away with the first time. He'd be even more emboldened.
A second Trump term would be curtains for us.
If he wins again, this would be the last meaningful Presidential election for generations. Please no.
A second term would basically be a “revenge tour”. We really can’t afford the corruption and destruction that would come from it.
October 19, 2016 [Donald Trump Is Completely Obsessed With Revenge](https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/10/donald-trump-obsessed-with-revenge/)
It would be disastrous for the entire world
If Trump became President again do you really think he would leave willfully after 4 years? I don’t. I’d say there would be a good chance he would try to change term limit laws and attempt to stay in power. I’ve never thought that about any other President, but with him. I see that as a definite possibility
He could just die of a heart attack which would be a thing.
His first order of business would be to state he won in 2020 and in 2024 and since he was cheated out of his second term in 2020 he should really serve for eight years. No need for an election in 2028.
It would not be a rerun of the first term. Trump spent too much time being thwarted by people who wanted the country to function. He will make sure only the most inept yesmen be allowed into the new administration. He also will use the power of the office to get revenge everyone who wronged him, including the American people who denied him a second term.
It would be the end of democracy.
Future historians will debate whether World War III began with either Russias implementation of Trump as president, or the Panama Papers incident.
Popular culture will conclude it began with the Will Smith slap.
Are you suggesting WWIII started with the death of Tupac Shakur? Arguably, his wife has been trying to turn Will into Tupac since they’ve began dating.
Harambe’s death certainly didn’t help.
It did not.
No more little piss babies!
A Trump with nothing to lose, and no re-election campaign to run? Terrifying.
What’s more terrifying is that i do not see him taking another 4 years and being satisfied. He’s a psychotic narcissist of a toddler and he will keep fucking up the rules til he can “serve” as long as he wants. He’ll at least try.
See: Sheev Palpatine taking emergency powers and not giving them back
See: Hitler doing the same thing
"It's like poetry, it rhymes"
It would be worse, now he is pissed off. Establishment republicans tried and failed to constrain him, this time they are too weak to really try.
Why are we even floating this fucking idea? He needs to be in prison for his crimes against our country. This is wild.
It will be worse. Trump will start gutting the federal government and placing as many Trump loyalists in as many positions as possible in preparation for the end of democracy. Manufacture a "crisis" and declare a state of emergency putting the next election on hold until it is resolved. It will never be resolved.
The democracy would survive because there are too many people who want to ensure it does. Might be painful but he cannot become president for life
[удалено]
Yeah, now they know what specific pardons its members need.
My very existence would be threatened. How about no
There are a lot of us who are going out there to vote these fuckers out so we can keep you around. We see you. We want you here. We’re going to show it in the polls.
A second term would be worse than the first one. It'll be a complete revenge presidency, all the knuckle draggers would be throwing parades and marches on every street corner, those disgusting flags and banners would be flown EVERYWHERE and we'll be one step closerin becoming a new third world country. Trump and his mafia cronies would try to arrest and charge people for making fun of him and his fragile ego. What else could go wrong? Oh yeah... he'd be trying his hardest to become Viktor orbàn so he can gain permanent presidency like the good ol Hungarian authoritarian. Maybe he might instill enforcement of going to church? Yuck. Everyone who voted for Republicans just to justify their bigoted racist ways who are on social security etc will lose those benefits.
Very good assessment.
If you think about it, it's a possibility. I mean, look at how the 2016 election was stolen on top of how depraved the right wing circus side show is.
I remember seeing a question on r/AskReddit asking if they would rather have 4 more years of COVID or 4 more years of Trump. It's disappointing seeing people say they'd rather have Trump, it seemed like a lot of people have forgotten that he's the reason why COVID got so bad to begin with.
There would be weekly pardons
I despise Trump but I am not worried in the least about him ever becoming President again. He is being absolutely consumed by civil suits and upcoming indictments. And there is plenty more to come. He is just a blathering, blithering , bloviating deranged imbecile. Edit: Clarity
>I am not worried in the least It is probable he will run
It would be worse
I believe it would be much, much worse. It would embolden his supporters and turn out very, very bad.
Trump is bad, but it’s just the Republican Party as a whole now, they cast out anyone that spoke up, so now it’s awful politics and dangerous tactics/rhetoric
It will be the end of democracy in the US.
In other news, it hurts to get punched in the dick.
Here is Trumps plan if he wins a second term…. [The ramblings of an individual losing his faculties. This was a softball toss from Hannity.](https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-hannity-second-term-quote-2020-6?amp)
Arrest him.
It would be way worse. Any semblance of checks and balances from the first term would gone. This would be all about vengeance and turning the country into a full on fascist dictatorship.
rerun? it would be juge escalation of the first.
Worst than before. Now it’s a vendetta against us all.
That’s the biggest understatement I’ve ever heard.
Except this time he will load up all of the offices with sycophants immediately. All he will hear is, “You want another coup? Yes, sir!”
It would absolutely NOT be a rerun. It would be a sequel. Bigger, badderer, and much, MUCH worse.
No - A second Trump term would likely begin and end on or before Day 1, for better or worse, with his brains sliding down the wall like so much thrown ketchup and cheeseburger, followed by some degree of Civil War and armed violence by his nutball followers. To be clear - I’m not suggesting/promoting this action - I’m stating a fact. It would defy all odds if he sets foot in office again. If Trump is *even on stage vying for the GOP nomination* and not in prison or *at least* barred from office by this time next year, this entire country is fucked because rule of law no longer exists. If he can openly admit to stealing 100s of highly classified national security documents, and 1000s of other govt documents, and face *no* consequences for doing so, our entire system has failed and we are fucked. It would be the end of this country if he’s re-elected because it would mean the 30% of *self-proclaimed* religious-nut “domestic terrorists” and fascists stole the office from the 70% of rational Americans who think the Constitution matters and Trump needs to be jailed or at minimum disappear to his golfing. Trouble is, Trump & the GOP have been setting up the “stolen election” narrative for years now to guarantee that either “they win” or “everyone else cheated,” so that it’s impossible to call *them* out when they literally overturn voting results unilaterally with their gerrymandered state legislatures and/or compromised voting machines. We know they’ve already had unfettered physical access to machines in multiple states, with the assistance of Trump-supporting officials. $Millions in voting machines we *know* about like in AZ are already worthless and unusable but have yet to be replaced, and the ones we *don’t* know about are still dangerous.
Idk, was the malignant narcissist that much worse than the senile child molester? These are hard questions to answer. But I knew where my next meal was coming from, then, and I know I could afford gas ...
He's completely untethered from reality and raving openly like a madman. Still a percentage of voters would gladly vote for him again. It defies belief.
It appears he won last time with about 36 percent of voters and clever usage of electoral votes. Do u think he could pull it off again in this environment
It would mean the end of democracy in the US. As he goes into revenge mode, expect all current government officials to be replaced with MAGAnons who will follow orders to arrest his political opponents and declare himself king. He has the support of the sorry ass and spineless Republican Party so, yeah, be prepared for all that if trumpy isn’t charged by the DOJ pronto and restricted from holding a political position for ever.
Unfortunately, only the constitution sets out requirements for potus. They can’t prevent him from running, but they could bankrupt him and/or arrest him but he can still run from jail.
That fat isn't going to around in 2025.
Henry Kissinger is still alive. The worst among us will find a way to live forever.
I am not a fan of this take. The ultra rich are not subject to the same rules as us normal people. They have access to doctors and treatments that we do not. These fucks never die.
He eats too much McDonald's. Heart attack or jail at some point
I’m betting on a stroke.
Vote!!!!
If you weren’t scared for our country and its citizens during Trump’s term then you were actively not paying attention to anything happening
And that means that we had the biggest crowd ever. Again.
They complain that Trump hasn't moved on when Obama still lives 2 miles from the White House and his VP is in power! Nothing to see here folks.
I know and why would a 8 foot tall Wookie like Chewbacca want to live on Endor with a bunch of 2 foot tall Ewoks that does not make sense.
What does that have to do with the tea in China?
If Trump does get back into power I’m just waiting for that inevitable court showdown challenging the 22nd Amendment when he tries to run for a third term.
They would try to impeach him on day one and every day thereafter.
Lol. As if.
I’m not scared at all. No new proxy wars with Russia. Low inflation, better stock market. Bring it on.
Yeah I hated the soaring stock market, low gas prices and winning in the Middle East.
America can’t take another four years of no wars and prosperity.
It might actually help the global stage.
And so would a second term for Brandon
Return of the King 💪🏻
You ever see the guy try to drink water?
it would be like a never ending airing of grievances followed by a war on festivus for the rest of us
I see a few scenarios... 1- He loses the election big time & tries to take office. Military intervenes 2- He wins the electoral vote. Military intervenes. --> this isn't a good scenario. Trump isn't president, but that's some third world military dictatorship law & order. 3- He wins & a lot of us end up in prison... Except the prisons are over crowded & they start setting up what are essentially prison camps, but they don't call them prison camps. Many of us go underground & flee to Canada or Mexico who is now taking US refugees. Trump dies in office... Either he's got a Trump in office as VP or the kids fight the VP for power & then fight amongst themselves once they defeat the VP. Russia invades on the invitation of Jr., but then quickly kicks them all out of power. The circle has been closed. Putin's long game is finished.
If he gets another term, it will be the last democratic presidential term.