As the election of 2024 approaches, it seems clear that we will be getting a Trump/Biden rematch.
Trump left the country and economy in shambles because of his inability to recognize and respond swiftly to the pandemic. Biden quickly took control of the pandemic, backed the independence of the Federal Reserve and now presides over a jobs boom and a period of remarkable growth.
THE BIDEN ECONOMY IS DOING REALLY WELL
Gross domestic product increased at a 5.2% annualized rate last quarter, revised up from the previously reported 4.9% pace, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) said in its second estimate of third-quarter GDP. It was the fastest pace of expansion since the fourth quarter of 2021. (Reuters)
Even Fox News had to report the economy is doing well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0LdM3EFVBM
THERE IS A CLEAR CHOICE
Whether or not you like the idea of a country led by one of the two seniors we will be choosing between – Trump or Biden- they are both known entities and we also know their management styles by now.
It’s true that Biden has a stutter which makes him sound less forceful sometimes when he speaks, but I’ll take that over the alternative. Biden has a lot of wisdom and many good long term relationships all over the world, which helps our country get what we want and need to be strong. He also knows how to pick good people to join his team. Unlike Trump, people stay working with Biden because they like him. His team is focused on fulfilling Biden’s agenda: helping our country work for the average American as well as support democracies around the world.
WHY TRUMP AND THE MAGAS ARE A DANGER
Trump and the MAGAs want to gain and hold onto power. Their goal is to benefit the already wealthy. Ultra rich rightwing donors are supporting their campaigns and dark money PACs. The MAGAs are beholden to the ultra rich. Trump pretends he is a populist, but anyone who believes that after Trump’s first term is lying to himself. During his time in office Trump gave huge tax cuts to his rich friends and corporations. He also engaged in corrupt deals for himself and his family.
But even more scary than the corruption we saw in Trump’s first administration, Trump has told us he wants to be the first American dictator. The MAGAs love that about him because they think he will get them what they want- a return to an America that favored them and a world that was not changing so fast. What they don’t realize is that Trump doesn’t care about them once he has their vote. If Trump cared about his followers he would not try once again to end the Affordable Care Act, which he has said he will do if elected. That’s the health care his constituents have come to rely on.
But it gets worse from there.
Trump and his MAGA followers are extremists. Many are religious extremists or Christian Nationalists who would force women to give birth rather than allow them to exercise a right to self-determination and control over their own bodies. We are seeing how that is playing out right now in Texas. A 20 week pregnant woman has asked the court to permit her to abort a fetus that has a defect that will cause it to die shortly after delivery. The woman herself could die or lose the ability to have more children unless she can abort this fetus. The court said yes to her request to abort, but the Attorney General in Texas, Ken Paxton, said absolutely not and the appellate court of Texas agreed with him. Texas is an example of what could happen nationally if the extreme religious right gains power with Trump as president.
Also at risk would be human rights including gay marriage. We would see the creation of concentration camps to round up and expel migrants. Children born in America of non-native Americans will no longer be considered Americans- the Dreamers dreams will be over. Trump has said he wants to punish his critics including General Milley, AG Bill Barr and others who failed to support the Big Lie.
Many Americans disagree with many of these ideas. But these rightwing extremists are not willing to compromise.
Trump appeals to the MAGA base because he stands for the best hope for an extreme minority to be able to impose their will on the majority. All Americans would lose out if an extreme minority could force their ideas on the majority.
DEMOCRACY REQUIRES COMPROMISE
We have seen the chaos in the House growing more nasty for years now. Americans complain that Congress is gridlocked. Republican extremists in the House are not willing to work across the aisle with Democrats. It is their way or the highway.
Democracy does not work that way.
In a healthy democracy, everyone understands they might be working towards different goals so you have to give in here and there. You give to get other things you want. There is a balancing of interests.
CHAOS IS THE POINT in the MAGA HOUSE
The new speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, who has taken charge now that McCarthy is out, is already gumming up the works. Johnson is trying to tie border policy to foreign aide for hot wars in Ukraine and Israel. Johnson knows that getting a border policy has been impossible for decades and is used as a way to get Americans upset so they will vote for Republicans or for Democrats depending on which side is decrying the failure of a border policy. Biden says he wants a better border policy and the truth is the border needs better control.
But it is a longshot that anything will be decided because chaos is the goal when it comes to the House Republicans. Why? Because they want to prove that democracy doesn’t work which paves the way for a Trump dictatorship. A congress that is nonfunctional is proof that democracy doesn’t work.
In short, the MAGAs in the House represent the chaos we will get if Trump is re-elected.
By-the-way, do you remember the chaos we had when Trump was president?
Remember those over-the-top executive orders like the Muslim ban, those fact free beliefs about pandemic cures, Trump’s love affairs with strongman leaders who hate America, his endless attacks on the press, on the Department of Justice, on the rule of law, and on voting rights for Americans? It can be hard to remember all of the chaos Trump brought us now that he has been out of office.
Biden came in and steadied the ship. Biden rebuilt the economy back to a place where we are once again the strongest country on planet earth. People in our country are grumpy and unhappy and seem not to realize that we are doing well overall in America. That widespread unhappiness might be the reason people who have forgotten what Trump is like could vote for him again.
TRUMP 2.0 WILL BE A DICTATORSHIP and TRUMP WILL NOT GIVE UP POWER
If Trump regains power he will put an Attorney General in charge who will dismiss the federal criminal cases against him and he will be laser focused on getting revenge and retribution for himself and stocking his cabinet with people who will not follow the law but will be loyal to him. This is par for the course with authoritarians. He plans to run the country as a dictator although he will not say that outright. He will hint at it. When Sean Hannity asked him recently if he was going to be a dictator he said “only on day one”. There’s your answer, folks. After wondering if we SHOULD take what he says literally, we have learned we MUST take him literally.
To be the forever dictator he wants to be and to dismantle democracy, many of the rightwing ideologues from his first term in office, like Stephen Miller, will return to power along with another cohort of much farther to the right rightwing ideologues. They have a very clear plan they have already announced that they will follow through with called Project 2025. Their plan is, first, to kick out core government line workers, who are the backbone of our democracy because they follow the rules that have been set up, and replace them with Trump loyalists. Trump calls these people the “deep state”. These government workers are the backstop of our democracy because they follow the laws established by government instead of following the whims of a dictator.
TRUMP PLANS TO END DEMOCRACY
The MAGA/Trump agenda is disturbing and very very dark.
People close to the former president say they are seeking out a different type of lawyer committed to his “America First” ideology and willing to endure the personal and professional risks of association with Mr. Trump. They want lawyers in federal agencies and in the White House who are willing to use theories that more establishment lawyers would reject to advance his cause. This new mind-set matches Mr. Trump’s declaration that he is waging a “final battle” against demonic “enemies” populating a “deep state” within the government that is bent on destroying America.
Here is what Axios reports will happen if Trump returns to power:
Trump allies are pre-screening the ideologies of thousands of potential appointees and employees in case he wins back the White House. Now we have copies of the exact questionnaires Trump allies are using — and that then-President Trump used during his final days in office, Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen write.
- These future Trumpers would staff an unprecedented effort to centralize and expand presidential power at every level of the administration.
- Trump insiders are planning a far more targeted and sophisticated sequel to his haphazard first term, when internal feuding deterred policy wins or permanent changes to government.
Why it matters: The 2020 questionnaire — paired with the application the Heritage Foundation is currently collecting from job prospects for a future administration — points to a top-down government-in-waiting that would be driven more by ideology than by policy expertise or innovation.
- Trump, the overwhelming favorite for the Republican nomination, is being explicit about his plans for retribution and disruption if he wins the 2024 election. So how he would staff his government is of immense consequence.
The 2020 “Research Questionnaire,” which we obtained from a Trump administration alumnus, was used in the administration’s final days — when most moderates and establishment figures had been fired or quit, and loyalists were flexing their muscles. Questions include:
- “What part of Candidate Trump’s campaign message most appealed to you and why?”
- “Briefly describe your political evolution. What thinkers, authors, books, or political leaders influenced you and led you to your current beliefs? What political commentator, thinker or politician best reflects your views?”
- “Have you ever appeared in the media to comment on Candidate Trump, President Trump or other personnel or policies of the Trump Administration?”
Similar questions are being asked for the Talent Database being assembled by the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 — the most sophisticated, expensive pre-transition planning ever undertaken for either party:
Between the lines: An alumnus of the Trump White House told us both documents are designed to test the sincerity of someone’s MAGA credentials and determine “when you got red-pilled,” or became a true believer.
Will Americans realize in time that if Trump gets back the power of the presidency that that will be our last presidential election?
It’s hard to know.
As an op-ed writer put it in the New York Times recently, there is a Bomb Under the Table.
If Trump is re-elected that bomb will explode our democracy.