I know what you're saying. That the environment that gave us Trump would still exist. Sure. All the issues, both illegitimate (white resentment, racism, propaganda) and legitimate (wealth disparity, disillusioning political figures, late stage capitalistic despair), would still remain.

But that also gives too little importance to Trump's unique place in this. He is a uniquely cynical, sociopathic trigger that is exploiting this populist anger, while being so incompetent that he fails to solve any of those issues underlying it.

He thus is simultaneously perpetuating those issues, while feeding off of them - both creating and burning the fuel of populist anger. DeSantis, Vance, Hawley, all the other toe-headed power-simps who would step in to take his place would fail to hold that paradoxical balance for long - they think they can learn it, but Trump is built for it. That is Trump's unique skill, his singularly destructive, delusional, sociopathic egomania.

Like a wildfire - yes, when there are dry hot conditions, many things could start one. But it's also true that you may have been almost through the dry, hot season when a wildfire hits. And if you could have prevented that first fateful spark a week - maybe a day - longer, you could have avoided catastrophe and tragedy.

I think that's where we were in 2016, and we failed to contain it. It spread so far, that we were barely able to contain it in 2020. But if we can avoid it in 2024, if we can prevent Trump from sparking another wildfire, maybe the season could change.

Also, if they think he'll just fuck off if he loses, they've not been paying any fucking attention..

That was not the claim. Just that Trump news are nasty and Trump is one of the few Republicans who has enough charisma to end up in the news. If he gets voted out, there is a good chance of him never running again and fading away into the background. It means the Republicans need a new leader and whoever that is, is probably going to fail.

I almost can't remember what the internet was like without seeing his name or face every day. I miss it.

I think he'll be either dead or not lucid enough to run personally

1. He did go away for a while, but not by choice. He was banned from Twitter, his reddit group quarantined, and news stations fucking finally decided to stop reporting on his every stupid statement
2. Of course he won't run again in 2028, he'll be dead. The dude looks like he's knocking on ~~heaven's~~ hell's door right now.

He might be gone, but his cult isn't.

I hope he dies soon.

The nazis pinned so much of their cult on his engorged, dying pus sac of a body that they may lose a substantial amount of steam if he loses.

A loss of steam that needs to be aggressively and ruthlessly leveraged to undo and bolster against as much of their nazi bullshit as humanly possible.

I don't expect him to live a full term even if he's not assassinated, and Vance is a fascist without dementia.

He's finally prosecuted for his countless crimes and lands in jail for life

Fucking ROTFLcopter. Yeah right.

I'd rather watch him flail about after losing again than watch him execute his ~~mass deportation~~ genocide plans.

Getting rid of Trump doesn't have to solve anything. I'll still feel good to know he didn't get something he wants. That's petty, and that's fine. So is he.