I'm more optimistic that that, even though the damage is severe. With the way the congress and voters are, nothing short of a major crisis will change the direction of the ship, and he's sure helping that crisis to happen. It would have anyway with the continued deficit spending, DJT is just helping to bring it about sooner. Now what if he hadn't been elected? We'd continue to be overrun with illegals, which surely IMO would have ended the USA. Then again, we're already ruled by Israel. I think a great step would be to not allow anybody with non-US or dual citizenship to hold any federal office. So many different factors make it a less than simple situation.
You know that brings up two issues I hear/see often..
Re: “but what if Kamala had won”
Of course my crystal ball isn’t any better than anyone else’s but while I detest many of the Democrat social policies, unlike many, I don’t put too much emotional capital in worrying about crazy liberal fads and trends. Given time, most die out naturally once the novelty wears off and reality sets in. DEI and Trans were and will always be just another infinitely small circus sideshow that was already waning before Trump was elected.
I don’t think we’d be in a war with Iran. I don’t think so many essential .gov programs would be so decimated, (one can argue cuts were needed, but some geniuses have the short sighted and foolish bravado view that we need NO .gov welfare and assistance), but the severity of cuts under Trump has crippled many social services that are indeed hurting legitimate needy people and will add to and speed up the social decline. (Health, food assistance, environment, and on and on)
I don’t think gasoline would have doubled, I don’t think food would be up +30%, and I don’t think the world would view America as a pariah state.
As to illegal aliens:
Again a matter of degree.
Uninhibited wide open borders won’t work and I think there was and is enough pressure to force even the Democrats to curtail it. But the Republicans and Trump used the issue as a distraction to blame the entire country’s problems on brown people crossing the border.
“They’re stealing your homes, driving up prices, taking your jobs, sucking up all welfare $$$, responsible for most crime, etc etc.”
Every single one of these has been proven demonstrably false. Used as a boogeyman to satisfy the lie and pacify the short sighted, ill informed base. Prove to me even one of those made up crisis directly affected you, middle class America, and how it changed your life.
Like it or not, our country needs a certain level of immigration labor to grow and survive.
It’s obvious by his own words that Trump has no vision of America past 2028. He’s publicly stated he doesn’t care. He’s contorted the power of the Presidency into an authoritarian “rule by decree” throne, and normalized never before seen open corruption that will be used by future Presidents and lawmakers in ways that the MAGA crowd won’t like.
Would Kamala have been worse? The decline of moral and ethical standards would have likely continued, the system itself is broken and our society is in a loop of moral and ethical decay, but at a slower pace.
But no, I don’t think it would have been worse.
And if you really knew me you’d know I’m far from a screaming touchy feely liberal.
Coming from a brutally honest, lower middle class family who overcame serious real world struggles, with no social assistance (dignity didn’t permit it), who fortunately due to incredible parents who climbed out and achieved middle class status while caring for a son (brother) with severe and expensive disabilities, and relatively poor blue collar grandparents out of the coal mines, steel mills, and potteries of West Virginia, maintained an ethic of self reliance and a very clear view of right and wrong.
But of course… he needs an easy win.
