• @yesman@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    25511 months ago

    What scares me shitless is the idea that Trump is what the US is and what the US has earned. Who’s ready for that conversation?

      • billwashere
        link
        fedilink
        English
        6811 months ago

        As an American I feel that a majority of Americans loathe him. The issue lies in not all those people vote.

        What scares me is that any Americans vote for him. How can you be so blinded and not see what a lying, cheating grifter that he is. The man is not intelligent, doesn’t read, is petty to a fault, vindictive, spiteful, narcissistic, nepotistic and just generally not a good person. Why would you choose that for a leader? It’s because you share those traits. That’s what scares me.

        • @voidMainVoid@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          3411 months ago

          The issue lies in not all those people vote.

          Partly. There’s also the issue with the electoral college, because that makes some votes worth more than others (depending on where you live).

        • @1847953620@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          1711 months ago

          I don’t know that they all share those traits per se, but just as damning not only to them but to our culture as well is our tolerance and even expectations that people in charge have those traits. I saw it everywhere when I lived in a deeply conservative small city, anyone with power (including company management) was beyond reproach. The status quo was defended harshly by the overwhelming majority. We have lost our values to greed by using the american dream as a trojan horse full of awful ideals.

          • @nilloc@discuss.tchncs.de
            link
            fedilink
            English
            211 months ago

            We can’t underestimate the hate for others that is behind these votes. It started as “owning the libs” and now is pretty much evolved to “eliminate the woke trans democrats”. That’s the part that’s scaring me these days. There is no platform for running the country, it’s all just piss off or erase the other side, figuratively and literally.

        • @Kage520@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          1311 months ago

          No no you don’t understand, I mean, sure the media makes him seem like he has those traits, but he’s really a great guy! I mean I guess it’s been proven he has those traits but who doesn’t right? Isn’t everyone deep down homophobic and racist and misogynist themselves?

          And really if you think about it, God can use anything he wants right? So why would he pick the Catholic guy out there trying to invest in America? He definitely wants the guy who most looks like my own deep down beliefs. So no matter what you say, your argument is invalid because God is on my side.

          …/s in case that was needed.

      • @ATDA@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        4711 months ago

        The crazy part is they think Biden makes the US look bad. When you present evidence to the contrary they say, "who cares what other countries think. "

        • @cmbabul@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          2811 months ago

          My aunt thinks Jill Biden is controlling the country from the shadows and wants to run in place of Joe in 2024. We are fucked

          • Flying Squid
            link
            fedilink
            611 months ago

            What does she think about Nancy running things for Ronnie once the Alzheimers got too bad?

          • @eldavi@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            511 months ago

            We are fucked

            more so because our only choice is between racist ultra-authoritarian con man and an opportunistic career politician that had always sided with racists and homophobes until it was politically popular.

          • @KnumbKnuts@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            311 months ago

            In fairness to your aunt, I have voted for Joe 3 times (2008, 2020, 2020), and even I think Joe is pretty close to weekend at Bernie’s. He really needs to step aside for Newsom.

          • billwashere
            link
            fedilink
            English
            211 months ago

            Well that’s just a stupid conspiracy theory. Well I guess they all are but this one seems particularly daft.

            • @cmbabul@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              111 months ago

              That was my first reaction, I didn’t even know how to respond to it because it’s patently absurd on its face. Really hoping it’s not some sort of viral right wing bullshit code that hasn’t cycled out into the mainstream yet

      • @CitizenKong@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        3711 months ago

        Fellow German and… yeah. People joke about the Hitler comparisons, but you won’t see us laughing. (I mean, in general, but that’s a different topic.)

      • @Asafum@feddit.nl
        link
        fedilink
        3211 months ago

        You should be offensive, we deserve it.

        We picked an absolute trash human as our leader, a sizeable portion of which chose him specifically because they wanted him to hurt people (see: “he’s not hurting the right people” woman.) That same group will often cite their desired outcome for any given thing is “to see liberals cry/get mad.”

        Hillary Clinton made a mistake by saying it out loud, but she was 100% correct when she said a large portion of Trump supporters are “a basket of deplorables.” They absolutely are and are deserving of scorn.

        I just hate how well propaganda works and how much money a random grifting asshole can make by parroting bullshit on YouTube, they boost each other and perpetuate this garbage era we’re going through…

          • Echo Dot
            link
            fedilink
            18
            edit-2
            11 months ago

            The American political system is literally incomprehensible.

            Everyone votes and then you find out who the winner is. And then, at some later point you find out who the president will be, and it’s not necessarily the same person for some reason.

            And yet apparently democracy has happened so that’s all.

            • Alien Nathan Edward
              link
              fedilink
              1111 months ago

              the american federal government is easy to understand: everything is weighed in favor of rural conservative racists because when we were first designing the thing they realized that they were in the minority but that we’d lose the revolution without them. President? Racists get more of a say due to the electoral college. Senate? Half a million conservatives in Wyoming get just as many votes as 40 million liberals in California. House? House reps are capped at 435 permanently so as areas become more populous they end up with less representation per person. SCotUS? Even when it’s running normally it’s biased because the biased president and biased Senate pick them, but since Obama now Democrats need the presidency and a majority coalition in the Senate in order to pick justices. That’s every branch of federal government, and recently they tried to make it even worse by making state legislatures (which always lean conservative because they gerrymander to hell and back) the sole authority on what constitutes a “fair” election. Given all the out and out treason that came from state legislatures after Trump got wrecked by Biden, I think we know what conservative state legislatures will do if they get to decide what constitutes “fair”.

              • @Cabrio@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                411 months ago

                Throw in a dash of first past the post, a pinch of gerrymandering, and baby we’ve got a minority government.

          • @eldavi@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            211 months ago

            republicans haven’t wont the popular vote in several decades and if you’re only now noticing; you need to (re-)evaluate your political leanings and learnings.

            • @new_guy@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              1411 months ago

              I mean… It’s not like I’m American or vote in America or live in America so I guess it’s not a priority to me to evaluate how these factor in my life.

              I guess it’s America’s job to do it.

              • Alien Nathan Edward
                link
                fedilink
                111 months ago

                That’s once since 1992, but in that time there have been 4 republican presidential wins. it’s definitely rigged.

      • @SoaringDE@feddit.de
        link
        fedilink
        1711 months ago

        Same here. I think this is what happens when education is underfundet. I’m happy we’re back to G9 but we should definitely pay teachers more to counteract the lack of teachers and ensure every teacher has sufficient time to do their job well.

        Otherwise people cannot be taught to think critical, question “why is he saying X?” instead of just weather it is true or not. Often understanding why somebody is saying sometimg at the time they do is much more important after all.

        • Bezerker03
          link
          fedilink
          811 months ago

          This idea that we are under funded is not true. Per Capita we spend more than every other country on education than any other OECD country besides Luxembourg.

          We are number two world wide for funds to education per capita.

          Our funding is just wasted and ineffective. We have a cultural problem with education. Not a funding problem.

          • @Eldritch@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            811 months ago

            Yes School boards and superintendents are extremely well funded. The fact that teachers have to struggle to scrape by while at the same time funding classroom supplies out of their own money just reeks of mis-allocated misspent funds. There’s always money for another Sports program. While science technology engineering and math extracurriculars in many districts don’t exist.

            It’s a perfect mirror of our diseased American culture. Where wealth and wealth alone is Merit. And those who give the least (work) get the most.

      • Gawanoh
        link
        fedilink
        911 months ago

        There are a lot of germans voting for idiots which just repeat a few Trump topics a few months later. :(

      • @limelight79@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        811 months ago

        I was visiting Germany in 2016 during the spring, before the election. Several Europeans, after hearing we were from the US, asked, “What the hell is going on in your country?”

      • @editilly@lemmy.dbzer0.com
        link
        fedilink
        English
        811 months ago

        No, Trump is the hail mary of the US ruling class. They are scared that the people just start ignoring the government and take power, so they give them demagogues

    • Alien Nathan Edward
      link
      fedilink
      811 months ago

      well yeah we have an attempted fascist overthrow of our government about once every 100 years or so because we like to stay just this side of fascism on a normal day

  • Eureka PhoenixOP
    link
    fedilink
    English
    11711 months ago

    ""In a normal society, a former president—let’s call him Donald Trump—who’s been indicted three times in under four months, on charges ranging from obstruction of justice to conspiracy to defraud the United States, would have absolutely no chance of ever being president again. It straight up would not be a scenario anyone would have to even contemplate; even if this individual were not in prison, the idea that they would be able to run for and win higher office once more would not compute.

    But unfortunately, we don’t live in a normal society; instead, we live in a place in which millions of people not only still support Donald Trump, but grow fonder of him with every new criminal charge. Which means that, despite the aforementioned indictments*, the twice-impeached, thrice-indicted ex-president is dominating every other candidate for the Republican nomination, and currently looks to be the most likely GOP nominee in the 2024 general election. That, of course, scares the shit out of a lot of people—including, apparently, one Barack Obama. Whose fear, it has to be said, is extremely unsettling!

    The Washington Post reports that during a private lunch with Joe Biden in late June, the 44th president “voiced concern about Donald Trump’s political strengths—including an intensely loyal following, a Trump-friendly conservative media ecosystem, and a polarized country—underlining his worry that Trump could be a more formidable candidate than many Democrats realize.” According to people familiar with the conversation, “Obama made it clear his concerns were not about Biden’s political abilities, but rather a recognition of Trump’s iron grip on the Republican Party.”

    Obama’s concerns are certainly warranted: In a New York Times/Siena poll released on Monday, Trump led his closest competition, Ron DeSantis, by a whopping 37 points. An even wilder data point that seems to validate Obama’s fears was that Trump beat DeSantis even among Republicans who believe he committed “serious federal crimes.” To be clear, that means these people believe Trump is a criminal, and want him to be president anyway.

    As FiveThirtyEight optimistically notes, should Trump be convicted before November 5, 2024, voters might be less inclined to cast a ballot for him, and presumably they’d be even less so if he’s sentenced to time in prison. (In the case of the most recent indictment, two of the charges carry up to 20 years behind bars, and compared to her colleagues, the judge assigned to the case has imposed the toughest sentences for January 6 defendants.) Though, who knows!

    As for a potential Trump-Biden rematch, another Times/Siena Poll poll published this week put the two in a tie, with each receiving 43% of the vote—which, for people who think democracy is worth preserving, is pretty pants-shittingly scary.

    In somewhat happier news, Obama reportedly promised at the same June lunch “to do all he could to help the president get reelected.” And in a statement, a spokesman for Biden’s campaign told the Post: “President Biden is grateful for his unwavering support, and looks forward to once again campaigning side-by-side with President Obama to win in 2024 and finish the job for the American people.”

    *And everything else!

    Mike Pence giveth and Mike Pence taketh away

    Yes, he tweeted yesterday that “anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be President,” but then he basically suggested today that Trump was just listening to his lawyers’ advice when he tried to overturn the election—which, coincidentally, is a defense Trump is reportedly planning to use."

    • @Lanthanae
      link
      English
      7511 months ago

      Honest question, how can we ever get out of this? Is it just human nature for most of the population to not have critical thinking skills? Is it possible to reach a world where the majority of people have even just a little empathy?

      It’s just so sad. It’s so clear to anyone even kinda paying attention that we possess the technical capacity as a society to meet everyone’s needs and eliminate so much human-caused suffering at the detriment to absolutely nobody. We could be working toward a society where everyone has community, safety, security, opportunity. We could do so much if all we did was kind of give a shit about each other.

      But no. Let’s elect the guy who mocked a disabled reporter, encourages white supremacy, committed treason, etc.

      Donald Trump is just a guy. A shitty guy, but just a guy. He’s not what is ruining the world, but the fact that so many Americans want to vote for that shitty guy as president shows that a massive portion of the population is also just some shitty person, and fuck if that doesn’t just burn up all my hope for this world.

      • @SulaymanF@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        5511 months ago

        Education is the only way to overcome this tsunami of stupidity and misinformation. But it’s slow and costly.

        • @yesman@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          3011 months ago

          Conservatives with a capital “c” are not brainwashed; they’re not tricked; they’re not progressives who’ve been misinformed. Trump is who they are and what they want.

          The Dominion discovery documents demonstrate that Fox News opinion hacks changed their coverage to appease the deplorables. In the case of the big lie, it was the viewers who radicalized right media, not the other way round. Maybe it’s been that way the whole time?

          The deplorables number in the millions. We need a plan to defeat and marginalize them in our democracy, not fantasies about changing what they are.

          • PupBiru
            link
            fedilink
            1411 months ago

            i’m not so sure it’s just evil people being evil

            i think it’s just us vs them, which basically has roots in greed, power over others, etc

            i think you could probably overturn those things with better instilled skills of long term planning, understanding of things like game theory (sometimes giving something to someone helps both of you! it’s not rewarding laziness: it can be selfish and humane)

            i just think the reasoning here doesn’t go further than the initial emotion… there’s been no reinforcement that maybe your first reaction isn’t the right one

          • @PRUSSIA_x86@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            711 months ago

            I’m going to go ahead and assume you’re not from middle America. It’s a lot more than just shitty people being shitty. This Cracked article from 2016 explains it quite well and I can assure you, as someone who was born and raised and now lives in Trump country, it still holds up. Add seven years of aggressive propaganda and intense radicalization and here we are now. The populist to fascist pipeline is almost complete.

            • @ZC3rr0r@lemmy.ca
              link
              fedilink
              311 months ago

              Thanks for reminding me of how good David Wong used to be at capturing popular thought and placing you into a certain perspective. I might not agree with some of the generalizations of that article, but it does help understand their perspective.

      • @FrankFrankson@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        2611 months ago

        the fact that so many Americans want to vote for that shitty guy as president shows that a massive portion of the population is also just some shitty person

        They are scared and have been convinced that he is the only one that can help them. They are not just “shitty people voting for a shitty person” they really believe that the deep state is out to get Donald and these charges are overblown and that Donald will really save America. They won’t realize that Trump only cares about Trump; even if Trump gets another term and burns down the government and fucks everyone they still will think Donald is just one week away from unveiling his plan to fix it all.

        • @Lanthanae
          link
          English
          1611 months ago

          That ignorance makes them pretty shitty.

          I’m not saying they’re fundamentally and permanently shitty, but they are being shitty. Refusing to become a more aware person is shitty.

        • @starrox@sh.itjust.works
          link
          fedilink
          English
          211 months ago

          They are scared and have been convinced that he is the only one that can help them. They are not just “shitty people voting for a shitty person” they really believe that the deep state is out to get Donald and these charges are overblown and that Donald will really save America. They won’t realize that Trump only cares about Trump; even if Trump gets another term and burns down the government and fucks everyone they still will think Donald is just one week away from unveiling his plan to fix it all.

          And that is exactly my problem with that kind of thinking (or rather: believing). How did they arrive at such conclusions? Did Trump actually do ANYTHING to make their personal lives better even for a second? How many examples are there of Mr. Ivory Tower to make even an ounce of positive difference in the lives of rural folks?

          So all I can see is a gullible people following the loudest talking head on a whim. It’s really hard for me to feel pity, much less sympathy in this circumstance. Although pity is certainly appropriate.

      • @Screwthehole@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        1411 months ago

        I’m left of centre, and here’s my take - the “left” is fucking up so badly that the right is going to win.

        Ever play a sport and you just trounce your opponent, but the coach says “you weren’t that good! They were just that bad tonight.”

        This is the same thing. Trump and the GOP aren’t doing some amazing job of campaigning and manipulating, they’re just up against the weakest opponent who can’t stop scoring on their own fucking net.

        • @Eldritch@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          811 months ago

          First let me preface this by saying that I vote against Republicans as often as I get the chance to. Which on the rare occasion someone runs against them where I live. It is usually a democrat. So I am a staunch Ally of the Democrats. That being said.

          I am left of center of what is generally considered left in the united states. The left isn’t fucking anything up. The Left has been cut off from having a voice for nearly the last 100 years in the united States. Since at least McCarthy. What we’ve seen is a populous that has been beholden to an incestuous right wing relationship. Between two solidly right wing pro oligarch parties. Though to Liberal Democrats credit. They give lots of lip service to the concept of social democracy. And do eventually, once it no longer takes courage or bravery, do the right thing. Once they get tired of everyone shouting at them enough.

          We need the economic tools we’ve spent the last hundred years vilifying. And we need a Resurgence of Education especially economic and political. People in the United States who think they are the left, and the way we are miseducated to define left are a joke. One that is crippling us and turning us against ourselves.

          We need to rip and tear the largest corporations apart. We need to nationalize basic necessities. We need to abolish private or unaccountable funding of all elections that every level. And most of all we need to empower workers. It’s only a start. But those are the things we have to do. And unfortunately my generation the Xers. All approaching 50 and 60 years old have largely abdicated and lost their chance to really impact or make a change. We need younger representatives in touch with what’s going on now to write the laws that will lead us into the future. Instead of the regulations that will hold us in some nostalgically idealized past that never existed.

          • @banneryear1868@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            2
            edit-2
            11 months ago

            Yeah the idea Dems are left is hilarious to me, social democrats in the streets, neoliberal conservatives in the sheets. The last cry of the left as a concentrated political voice was contained in aspects of the civil rights movement, but those aspects, like MLK’s socialist insistence on economic redistribution through class projects, and his identity as a labor organizer, is completely whitewashed. It’s condensed to Rosa Parks sat on a bus, MLK had a dream, LBJ passed the law.

            The Dems stop at disparity frameworks because that doesn’t threaten the political economy in any meaningful way, as long as people are fucked over proportionately it’s okay. Rising income inequality, lowered standards of living, eventually something has to give to keep this speculative real estate project of a country going.

        • Semi-Hemi-Demigod
          link
          fedilink
          6
          edit-2
          11 months ago

          One thing the political center lacks in America - and I say center because we don’t have a truly leftist political party - is a vision for the future. They don’t want a fundamental change in how the economy and government work, they just want to keep things steady and work around the edges.

          The problem is the economy and government aren’t working for most people and most people want them replaced.

          Republicans have a vision. Yeah, it’s a racist, sexist vision that will drag us back to the 1950s, but it’s a vision they can communicate.

          What’s the Democrats’ vision? I don’t think it’s mine, of worker cooperatives and high speed rail and free education and universal health care, paid for by shaking Bezos and Musk upside down until no more money comes out. As far as I can tell they just want to keep things going like they have since the 90s.

          And then they wonder why they can’t seem to get people to get excited to vote for them.

        • @Dark_Blade@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          311 months ago

          This is certainly a part of it. In a time when Democrats should be uniting and putting forward their strongest faces to protect democracy from the GOP, they keep engaging in political gamesmanship because ‘c’mon look at this clown, there’s no way anyone will vote for him!’

          Only problem is that people have, and people could once more, put this guy in the White House. And if it happens…well, everything’s fucked.

          • @Screwthehole@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            111 months ago

            I do. Where is the good Dem candidate with the platform attacking high cost of living, corporate takeover of housing, backing unions, and looking at funding education, ubi, etc?

            It’s be pretty easy to break this wide open and runaway with the election. If they wanted to.

        • @banneryear1868@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          211 months ago

          There’s no representation of the left in American politics, there’s leftist but no political power of a left movement. The closest thing is the recent wave of workers unionization efforts which is at least encouraging.

      • @SCB@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        1011 months ago

        Nationalism and nativism pops up every few generations. Always has. We beat it every time and it shuts up and the world dramatically improves for a while. As it improves, some people become nativists and nationalists, and the cycle repeats.

        Google the “Know-Nothing Party.” Trump isn’t anything new at all.

        Only problem is, just like a super hero, we have to win every time, and they only have to win once.

      • @Barbacamanitu@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        811 months ago

        We shame them for being shitty. Don’t engage them in debate, they are used to that. Don’t try to use facts, because they don’t care about facts. Don’t try to convince them of shit.

        Make them feel like outcasts and bad people. Brush off what they say when they say horrible shit. Make them have emotional responses to their shitty views. Conservative news targets these people by exploiting their emotions.

        And vote. Vote for people who will fix our education system so that our next generation knows how to think for themselves.

        • @kabat@programming.dev
          link
          fedilink
          511 months ago

          That approach could work in the past, but it won’t now. Now we have the internet when even people shamed by their family or neighbors will find support and like-minded individuals. We are only going to be more divided in the future.

          • @Barbacamanitu@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            1
            edit-2
            11 months ago

            Unfortunately, you are correct. We’re doomed.

            I once saw a comment where a guy said that before the internet, if someone wanted to fuck toasters and told anyone, he would be shamed and made fun of to the point where he’d never bring it up again.

            With the internet, if someone wants to fuck a toaster, they can go online and find a while community of people who also enjoy fucking toasters, complete with guides and recommendations on the best toasters to fuck.

            Its absurd, but it illustrates a great point. So yeah, we are fucked. Pandoras box is open.

        • cannacatman
          link
          fedilink
          1411 months ago

          That is the farthest thing from a good article that I’ve read in some time. I suppose that it does give some insights to why trumpers act the way they do, however trying to align their actions with some sort of ‘we the elitists need to do a better job at not being elitist’ mentality is rather dumb at first glance, and a bit insidious upon closer examination.

          • @InquisitiveFactotum@midwest.social
            link
            fedilink
            English
            111 months ago

            To me it was helpful in trying to understand the perspective from which a group derive their actions. Much like you said. Usually a good first step in dealing with interpersonal conflict is to make an attempt to understand the other perspective. The end does seem to wander a bit, but I think there’s some truth in the general premise that a large group of people feel left behind (in various ways for various reasons).

        • Semi-Hemi-Demigod
          link
          fedilink
          4
          edit-2
          11 months ago

          The ideal that “we’re all in this together” was replaced with the reality that the educated class lives in a world up here, and everybody else is forced into a world down there. Members of our class are always publicly speaking out for the marginalized, but somehow we always end up building systems that serve ourselves.

          I love how Brooks can talk about class without bringing labor into it. Just a great example of liberals missing the damn point.

          Then he goes on to talk about “open immigration” like that’s even close to what we have.

          • @banneryear1868@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            311 months ago

            Yeah Brooks is one of those special kind of conservatives who seems to always miss the point in the most aspirational moralized way. Like he taught a class on “humility” that included readings of… himself. I also love his ever-Freudian book title “The Second Mountain” which is about how commitment to marriage is part of a fulfilling life… after he divorced his wife and married his younger assistant.

      • snooggums
        link
        fedilink
        2311 months ago

        100% true.

        We also like to parrot shit like “no one is above the law” while requiring perfect situations before ever questioning elected leaders like the president when they blatantly break the law. The US has inverse responsibility, where we blame the poor for being poor and give the wealthy every possible chance to buy their way out of crimes.

        • Yoruio
          link
          fedilink
          811 months ago

          Except the president and police are literally above the law with the presidential pardon and qualified immunity.

          • NoIWontPickaName
            link
            fedilink
            811 months ago

            Qualified immunity isn’t abused nearly as often as people think it is.

            Civil asset forfeiture is the one they really abuse

    • @TransplantedSconie@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      1011 months ago

      They were coming to kill him, and the spinless fuck Pence can’t even stand up for himself.

      Mother must be getting tired of looking at his lack of balls when they get ready to shag.

    • NGRippel
      link
      fedilink
      811 months ago

      @eurekaphoenix
      Wonder how these self-same Republicans would react if Obama had operated like Trump and was being indicted for the same alleged crimes? 🤔

  • @VaidenKelsier@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    10511 months ago

    Look, anyone with a working brain should be worried about the prospect, because if he wins, then that means we’re in for the worst four years (and probably much longer than four years) of our lives here in the United States. I don’t think we come back from that.

    • @whofearsthenight@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      78
      edit-2
      11 months ago

      If Trump wins re-election, I think it’s entirely non-hyperbolic to say that democracy in this country is over. Think of the things he tried to do with some, obviously-too-small, guard rails. He attempted a literal coup. Literally throw away votes. Literally has one of his chief advisors saying that if people protested said coup, they would use the insurrection act, or more directly, use the military to put down to put down those protesting the coup. There is a very small number of things that prevented this from happening, not the least of which is just a tiny handful of people being like “uh, we can’t actually do this, right?”

      • @demlet@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        1811 months ago

        I don’t entirely disagree, but it’s also true that Trump exposed some serious flaws in our political system, and that serious people have been working very hard since Jan 6th to make it much harder to do what he and his cohorts did. One example would be the supreme court victory that struck down a proposed law that would have allowed state congresses to ignore election results. Not saying everything’s okay now, but maybe it’s not quite so dire. Of course, most democratic coups happen when an individual or group just decides they won’t follow the rules anymore, so there is that little problem with trying to litigate ourselves out of this mess.

      • @CeruleanRuin@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        911 months ago

        Most distressingly, he learned that he has a literal mob/cult willing to stand behind him and do anything he tells them to, no matter how abhorrent.

        • @whofearsthenight@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          5111 months ago

          You know, if you skip that first sentence in my comment, what country would you think I was talking about?

          Fascism happens slowly, and then all at once. Please, I beg of you, read a book.

          • @mikeboltonshair@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            511 months ago

            Oh no you must be smarter than me by telling me to read a book…

            If Trump does win again democracy will not fall under him, this is the type of shit people who are terminally online/terminally on Twitter say.

            Lets check back here if he happens to get elected and if you are right I’ll apologize for not seeing it coming and if it’s just another 4 years of a moron running the country but democracy is still a thing you can apologize, I don’t bet much but if money was involved I’d bet I’m right

            • @whofearsthenight@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              1611 months ago

              I bet you were the the type that said that we didn’t need to worry about Roe when Trump was campaigning the first time around.

              • @mikeboltonshair@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                English
                311 months ago

                I bet you I never said that and I didn’t give a fuck about Trump because I’m not American, I just find all the shit swirling around him makes people lose their shit and say idiotic things like democracy will die if he’s elected again, it didn’t die the first time and last I checked he’s got 3 or 4 indictments going at the moment, plus now there is a different old idiot running things there is there not?

                • @uberkalden@lemmy.world
                  link
                  fedilink
                  711 months ago

                  I mean, they had a reasonable shot at overturning the election. Just a few people did the right thing to stop it, but it could have been bad. Also, the indictments don’t mean shit if he’s reelected. What do you think happens to this country if he’s found guilty and then pardons himself?

                  The different “old idiot” isn’t a fascist. You got any other bullshit we can deal with to make it clear trump is a serious threat?

            • WashedOver
              link
              fedilink
              611 months ago

              Many never read a book again after high school. Another round never read a book again after college. For those that read or even consume history documentaries will understand Fascism came to power in various countries through their democracies and then they were dismantled after the fact. Many imagine it was pew pew pew early on that occurs. In some cases yes.

              Of the many cases last century, there was this one “stupid little corporal” the ruling elite thought they could use and opened the door for him early on. However he legally came to power as far as the system was concerned. The ruling Elite thought they would dispose of him once he served their needs.

              Eventually he disposed of this elite that didn’t take him seriously, then it was on to the rest of the world to think he was a farcical nut with a God complex they could ignore.

              Then it became there isn’t any use in calling him a nut, because he is a power and we have to recognize that as the Europe then the world descended further into another round of darkness.

              This is not the only example of where those that know no bounds push and topple these systems that were constructed by “gentlemen” of a older time expecting honor and proper decorum to still be a part of the checks and balances. The little German above along with the Italian and Japanese ones did not push their systems legally early on as much as we see in the US today.

              Today honor and decorum left the scene long ago so it will be interesting if sleepy and hair sniffing Joe loses to the business fraud, tax evading, alleged rapist, and coup inspiring white supremacist con man where things will go next time around. At the very least environmental safe guards and agencies will be the first to go. The rest will be much more interesting…

            • @Koffiato@lemmy.ml
              link
              fedilink
              411 months ago

              There’s no reasoning with these guys. You immediately get thrown out and called names over names. The slight issue here, I’m a third party and don’t even support neither of these, yet only a certain side calls me names and accuses me of shit.

              I can see how and why Trump is set to win this election. Good luck to you guys with four more years with the guy.

              • @this_1_is_mine@lemmy.ml
                link
                fedilink
                311 months ago

                uhhh ill trust my marine little brother about the flavor profile of the best wax writing tools. You just might not have the right box of crayons.

    • @CeruleanRuin@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      1911 months ago

      We haven’t come back from his actual four years yet, and probably won’t for a very long time. The prospect of him returning to finish the country off is a nightmare.

    • @Mereo@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      1111 months ago

      Not just for you guys but the world. The world as we know it is at stake as USA is currently the world’s superpower.

    • @jtk@lemmy.sdf.org
      link
      fedilink
      English
      22
      edit-2
      11 months ago

      Vile people want a vile leader that they believe will help them remain vile without consequence. Especially vile people see the power in that, and run for government office. Or just decree they’ve got the job in this case.

    • @tjtherealbest@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      711 months ago

      I’m not scared of him being in office because I have confidence that he won’t be elected. I know the whole mindset on Reddit and Lemmy is fear of him being back in office but with more young voters who are overwhelmingly left leaning being able to vote, the Republicans shooting themselves in the foot overturning Roe V Wade, and all of the ass backwards policies they’re putting in place, more people aren’t gonna let this happen in 2024. But I understand the fear completely and it is justified

      • @DarthBueller@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        411 months ago

        The issue is that the overwhelming majority of voters, including the youth vote, only pay attention to federal elections and ignore state and local elections. In the present day and age, States’ Supreme Courts are even more important for individual rights than the SCOTUS. If you’ve got a red state high court and legislature and progressive federal senators/representatives/POTUS, life will still suck bigtime in your state. And more than ever, SCOTUS is reverting to “STATES RIGHTS” like we’re back in the Jim Crow era.

        • @tjtherealbest@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          311 months ago

          It could just be me, but from what I’ve seen of those around me as I’m Gen Z myself, a lot of us ARE aware of local elections and how important they are. We actively do vote in them. It may have a much bigger impact the next go around but we’ll all have to just wait and see

  • Thirsty Hyena
    link
    fedilink
    English
    53
    edit-2
    11 months ago

    I’m more surprised that he’s allowed to try for another term.

    • arefx
      link
      fedilink
      5611 months ago

      I’m not, USA politics is pure corruption wrapped up nice with a bow. It’s a joke and that’s been extremely apparent since 2016

  • @Adeptfuckup@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    3911 months ago

    Obama has the resources to flee the country. The rest of us do not. What are we as individuals do when half of the country decides to abandon democracy and the rule of law? Asking for a friend…

    • @Dark_Blade@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      1211 months ago

      America is the world’s only superpower. No matter where you run, global consequence will follow if Trump is re-elected.

  • @oxjox@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    English
    2711 months ago

    Part of me, I guess the defeatist part, just kinda wants to get it over with.

    I have no problem with allowing him to run (as of today) because (as of today) there’s nothing prohibiting him. I do have a problem with more than a third of this country willing to vote for him. How stupid and/or bigoted can we possibly get?

    The founding fathers of this country established rules that (as of today) both ensured and prevented what’s currently transpiring. If it were the case that a subset of the government were trying to oust a political leader, The People should still have a say as to who represents them and bring “balance”(?) to the government. But also, if The People are being a bunch of idiots, the Electoral College can overrule their stupidity. It might be worth noting that the founding fathers also owned other humans as if they were livestock and didn’t believe a woman had the same rights as a man. So, to say “some mistakes were made” would be understating it. RANKED. CHOICE. VOTING.

  • Grant_M
    link
    fedilink
    English
    2311 months ago

    It’s good to be concerned. If that treasonous rapist trump got in again, it’s game over for freedom and democracy globally.

  • @Leer10@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    English
    21
    edit-2
    11 months ago

    I couldn’t care less about what Obama thinks when he squandered all that hopeful energy in 2008.

  • Kokesh
    link
    fedilink
    English
    1811 months ago

    Who isn’t, except the dumb nutcases.

  • @KnumbKnuts@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    1511 months ago

    If I could go back in time and either kill Hilter or convince Obama to lay off Trump at that White House Correspondents’ Dinner, the Jews would have lived 3 out of 4 times, but that 4th time, it would have been Rubio vs. Clinton (the butch one).

    • @cor315@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      311 months ago

      I’ve always wondered what the world would be like if Hitler died or didn’t come into power. A lot good things happened because of the horrible things that Hitler caused.

      • @gammasfor@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        311 months ago

        Yeah I’m one of those who wouldn’t go back in time and kill Hitler as I’m not entirely sure it would have led to a better outcome. For starters Hitler didn’t build the concept of fascism, he was just the first to take it to its end state. Kill Hitler and you could just end up with a situation where WW2 was a fight against Himmler.