In November 2020, the world breathed a collective sigh of relief. Despite Trump’s bluster and shenanigans, the insanity was at an end. It had been an exhausting four years, but finally, it was over. Post-January 6th, it seemed clear that Trump had driven the final nail into his political coffin by inciting an insurrection.
Unfortunately, what should have been unthinkable is now highly likely: a second Trump term.
The difference between Republicans and Democrats once appeared less stark; it was more a difference in priorities and emphasis. Judged by European standards, they ranged from Centre-Left with F.D.R., L.B.J., and Biden through to Right with Reagan and George W.
The GOP had always claimed to be the party of patriotism, moral and financial probity, and a believer in strong alliances and the rule of law. However, the mask slipped when Trump was elected, and craven desire overrode any semblance of decency as large swathes of the right jettisoned morality to cozy up to the orange one.
Sadly, reason seems to have been thrown out the window along with accountability and the truth. The sheer volume of Trump’s lies is staggering—a tsunami of demonstrably false claims that hits the media with wave upon wave of falsehoods that overwhelm even the fleetest-footed fact-checkers.
After hearing 10,000 lies, what difference does another 10 egregious lies a day make? The constant barrage of jaw-dropping whoppers numbs the senses of the gullible and casts doubt on everything. The MAGA crowd has been inoculated against the truth.
Newly eligible Gen Z voters don’t remember the pre-Trump political landscape, so this insanity is their normal.
Viewed from outside the USA, the 2024 Presidential Election should be a foregone conclusion—a no-brainer. A simple choice between a competent, sane human being and a narcissistic sociopath with authoritarian leanings.
For the last several decades, referencing Hitler has signaled hyperbole in political debate, but now in 2024, it has become scarily apt. Especially when a running mate compares his own candidate to the Führer! This week, Trump’s longest-serving chief of staff, a right-leaning retired four-star general, talked of Trump’s fascist tendencies and admiration of Hitler.
In a country steeped in religious humbuggery, it is perhaps unsurprising that the orange flimflam man isn’t laughed off stage for suggesting bullet-swerve divine intervention. Trump will likely garner the support of more than 80% of white evangelical Protestants, a fact that beggars belief and shames those believers.
A moral vacuum of a man-child hawking Chinese-made bibles while being unable to quote a single biblical verse. As a proselytizing atheist, I would suggest, “And Jesus wept.”