Trump's been re-elected - now what?

That's the cold hard reality we're facing. Will things be as bad as we're concerned they could be? Will they be even worse? All we can do now is wait and see.

 

I would love to hear everyone's thoughts on the best and worst case scenarios for after inauguration day.

Worst case- revolution
Best case- revolution

I think it has been coming for a long time and I honestly don't think it would have changed even if we elected any of the other candidates that were presented to us. The system is too far fucked for any one election cycle to fix. People are really hurting and we need a drastic change, unfortunately, so many people have been leaning in the direction of embracing fascism for that change. I think the key is to start trying to convince them that we all (mostly) actually want the same things and the way they are trying to go about achieving them are not going to get them what they actually want.

I would say that everyone would be on board with being able to afford groceries and housing, having access to clean water, to not feel manipulated by the government, to have real honest journalism, to be able to not be fearful of your neighbors and family members, having our children get a real education where they actually learn the truth not some whitewashed version of it, not having our food poisoned by corporations so that they can then sell us medications to hide the symptoms...these are the things we need to be fighting for. Of course there will be other things that we may not see eye to eye on but to have the media whipping everyone into a frenzy over those things so that people get so angry and fearful that they are ready to fight their own families and friends over it is just plain evil.

Every person needs to prepare to fight, either in words or deeds, to fight not against each other but to fight against the governments and corporations that want to control everything, including us, to fight against being seen as just another commodity, because that's what we really are to them.

Just my 2 cents

 

I have to wonder how this is going to play out. Will we see 1960s-style uprisings? Revolution even? A military coup? Or will we passively accept what's happening and go quietly into that bad night?

 

For some years, I have thought that the 50 states in the US should be independent, running on a system not dissimilar to the EU and NATO.
3 leading ministers from EACH state should then elect a president, but if chosen from any of them they should NOT be allowed to stay in office and perform a dual role.

The role of the president should be confined to defence,but NOT launching an attack on another country without a majority vote from the member states.
Basic overseeing health services to provide a minimum standard.
Agreeing a structure of the armed forces.
Fair trade between the member states.
General import policy.
A general policy for tourists and visitors
Any proposed major policy should go to a vote AMONG THE STATE LEADERS.
The FBI should be restructured and retained, retaining the final decision on extradition.

The member states should be free to elect a government as they see fit and not confined to the current political parties.
In my opinion, the current political parties that are run and funded by the corporations should be completely scrapped. By their very nature they are both corrupt.

Obviously I have only mentioned a number of key points, so it would not he as easy as a post on HF. But done properly, the new North America really would become great again and the pride of the world.

 

Once we get over the shock of Trump winning, the resistance will continue. It will start out small at first, scattered protests, but it will build momentum, and I predict inauguration day will see a lot of chaos. Over time as he tries to push through his mass deportations and other extreme policies, possibly including Project 2025, the pushback will be more intense. We could see a counterculture resistance to compare with the 1960s.

At least that's what I think, and hope.

 

Trump seems to be something in between chaotic neutral a d chaotic evil.

Who the fuck knows what is going to happen, him included.

The biggest risk for us in Europe is that the combination od refocusing (that is there to some extent regardless who is in office, a necessity from the rising China), Trump’s relativising of Nato, friendliness with Putin and with the most disruptive politicians in Europe (like Orban) and hawkish politics might enforce a level of decoupling from the US.

I don’t think that is good for anyone, as much as populist pub “politicians” always like the idea of things getting rattled and the “system and establishment” dismantled.

There is a very specific tacit agreement that has guaranteed stability from the WWII to Trump (cracks started to appear in the previous mandate, and he will have more free rein now).

US provided a security umbrella, and got the investment back by an outsized influence to the international legal system and consequently commerce and economic interest in general. It is not a waste of resources as the Maga idiots so easily buy in, it is an investment into basically controlling the planet and setting the system to benefit the US.

Somehow those “deal with your shit” hawks just assume that Europe in that scenario would keep in line with the US interests, fight the same wars, support with the same 30 hands in the UN and 2 in the Security council… Which seems a bit naive. It would probably not create an outright enemy, but certainly a big competitor alongside China. Seems a bit short sighted.

At the same time military hawks in Europe believe that developing an independent strong military would give us more power and influence than just economy. Sure, it would, but it would also introduce more pieces to the chessboard and increase the risk of destabilisation through even more competing interests backed by even more guns.
And it is not like we have the greatest of historical records once tanks start rolling down the production lines. Specially if cracks within the EU start widening. Not sure how donI feel about the possibility of one of the biggest economies (EU) paired with the industrial know-how comparable to the US diverting resources into the military industry. Because like the US does by using military to create economic benefits through guns backed influence - every investment is ultimately looking for returns, including investment in weapons.

Humans are never happy with what they have and think there is something better behind the next hill.

Stability of power balance after the WWII and than even more the PaxAmericana era after the fall of SSSR was objectively (in numbers, not just impressions) the most stable and prosperous period in human history. Yes, it gave the US too much power, but even with those fuckups in Irak and similar it was still better than any other period for most of the planet.

There is a not insignificant risk now for that to be over.

Not only because of Trump of course. China is inflating its military and behaving aggressively, Russia is doing what it is doing, and there are many other regimes looking for a way to create chaos and get a bigger piece of the pie. It is not all his fault, and obviously a lot of voters believe he can actually be a “force for good” in that situation.
I would personally be happy if he does not fuck things up too much.

But no one can see the future, who knows.

 

Democrats failed on several points.

• Failure to choose a viable candidate prior to the conventions.
• Ineptness of Biden during the first debate.
• Scrambling to produce a viable candidate the onus fell to the incumbent VP, Harris.
• That Harris didn't out do Trump convincingly during their debate.
• That Vance out did Walz in their debate knowing Trump may not complete his term.
• A pitiful interview on Fox by Harris (her staff called for an end to control damage).
• Statements made by Harris about Biden economics and not changing a thing.
• Voters knowing the Harris promises, grocery prices and taxes, cannot be fulfilled.
• The voter comparison between the first pitiful Trump term vs the pitiful Biden term.

It looks, by the wide margin in popular vote, voters would rather fall back to the previous administration than continue with what was in place. I really feel the election was about economics and prices at the pump. Not transgender surgeries or border crossings. Jobs and incomes versus how much people have left over after bills have been paid was the key. In the end it just seems people are tired of all the accusations, impeachments, law suits, and convictions while not improving life in our country.

 

People have forgotten the Covid Pandemic, which clobbered the economy. The Biden administration got to work and got the pandemic under control, something which Trump didn't come close to accomplishing. But people needed to be taken care of financially after losing their jobs to the shutdowns, and that put us in debt. Since then the economy has mostly recovered, and once again Trump will step in and take credit for it, all the while slowly eroding it.

 

- Instead of 3,000,000 new homes, imagine 5,000 new concentration camps for Democrats, minorities, immigrants, handicapped, liberals, non-team players, political reporters, all non-celebrity persons age 75 and above . . .
- To reduce the costs of Social Security and Medicare, each recipient would get $10 per month in gift cards from 7-11, and a wellness visit once every 5 years, . . .
- To reduce air pollution, all non-celebrities will not be allowed to drive (cars, trucks, lawnmowers, E-scooters, or skateboards)
- To reduce the cost of housing, the Gubment will confiscate the entire estates of all non-celebrities, keep the money and auction off the real estate and other non-monetary assets.

 

Okay, that's really extreme even for Trump, in fact it goes further than Hitler ever did. Let's keep this discussion grounded in reality.

 

Or what?

 

If there's one thing americans are known for, it's being disobedient and telling the government to sit and spin on a cactus. States did that last time. We also don't have to listen to a damn thing that his bought and corrupt scrotus (yes that was intentional) says.

Honestly though, I don't know what else to do? I'm low income and so I can't flee to Canada easily.

 

Most of our politicians are owned by large corporations and do whatever the lobbyists tell them to do. Boycotting works well, buy as local as you can from small businesses, make as much at home as you can, try to become more self sufficient and try to get your friends, family, and neighbors to do the same. Create community, help each other and trade amongst yourselves.

 

I am not saying that everything in the US is wrong, the examples in you last paragraph clearly show that. To me, the country is just too large for the current political structure.
While the states that you mentioned are succeeding, cities like Detroit still exist and little seems to be improving.

While I gave an outline suggestion, as you mentioned many of suggestion already exist and would just require a bit of fine tuning.
I still think that when it comes to national power, having 2 parties funded by the corporations is at the root of the problem. I also have serious doubts about the CIA, they seem to feel that they are above the law and many people consider them complicit in dug trafficking across the border.

By far the biggest threat to the US way of life is China. This was without doubt the reason for Trumps demise during his first term. Many of the corporations make billions by importing from china, without providing a single job in the US. Put simply they are parasites. Trump saw this and his proposed taxation would have forced several of the corporations into administration. The additional and far worse problem is that none of the monies spent on these imports ever return to the US, so China invest them on the US stock exchange and US property. One annalist calculated that the Chinese Communist Party owns around 15% of US stock and property.

At a domestic level, the thing that most shocks me is the 49,000 US citizens shooting and killing each other every year. That figure for the UK is 29. Likewise, while US police shot and killed around 1,000 people, we managed 3. Also, while they kill around 35 innocent people every year, it has only happened once here during the last 50 years.
Why in 2024, people in the US need to carry guns completely baffles me. Less than 1% of our police are armed and around 80% of them have never fired a shot while on duty in their entire career.

Thank you for your reply and the encouraging news that parts of the US have seen the light at the end of the tunnel. Unfortunately we rarely get balanced news about your country here in the UK.