by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner
It’s easy to look at how poorly MAGA Republicans did on Election Night and make some conclusions about Trump that are inaccurate. Two key things stick out — one, Trump remains unusually popular for being such a ding-dong and two, he’s not going anywhere.
This is not to say that Trump won’t begin to feel pressure to step aside so Ron DeSantis can finish the slide into autocracy that Trump began. He will. But say what you will about Trump, he’s a fighter and he would rather destroy the Republican Party than let DeSantis become POTUS.
At least without being Trump’s veep first.
But all of this does raise the question — was Trump a fluke? Was it inevitable that he would win in 2016, given how much losing he’s done since then? I think someone like Trump was inevitable between 2016 and, say, 2024 for a variety of reasons ranging from demographics to America’s fading empire.
The issue is, of course, that all things being equal, the person who would shepard America through the final transition into autocracy would be DeSantis. He would become POTUS in 2025 and, well, that would be that. He will be POTUS for the rest of my life. In 20 years, he will invade Canada for some reason, probably because Florida is finally sinking into the ocean.
There is a chance, of course, that Trump and DeSantis will go head to head in 2024 for the Republican nomination and if Trump should lose, he will bounce for the Patriot Party, splitting the Republican vote and potentially punting our massive political problems down the road for one more election cycle.
Or not. Everything is up in the air at the moment. Buckle up.
