Thank you for writing this all up! As an Austrian, I am reasonably well acquainted with German WWII history and I can only echo the sentiment that Trump has neither the means nor the will to enact large-scale power fantasies. Moreover, the world of 2024 is much, much different that the world of 1933 or 1939 for that matter. War and violence was much closer and well-understood back then and the population was much, much younger. Even then, I always get the feeling that there was only a minority of Germans who welcomed WWII with glee, much in contrast to the mania in 1914. WWI destroyed the taste for war for many.
My concern is that younger citizens do not appreciate the nuclear threat. They do drills against mass shootings--a terrible development-- rather than "duck and cover" against nuclear attack. We need vigilance against and measures to prevent both kinds of danger
William Barr stated on a couple of occasions that Trump lacks discipline to deliver on his policies and would likely deliver chaos. "It is a horror show when he's left to his own devices...Trump will not deliver Trump policies. He will deliver chaos and if anything lead to a backlash'"
Chaos sounds right. I look at his business accomplishments, which were all chaotic messes ending in bankruptcies. He got bailed out by the TV sow, which he was cast in...he didn't think of it or get it off the ground; Barrett did. So, chaos.
For the last 10 or 15 years, he's made most of his money by licensing his name to buildings first, and then gym shoes and Bibles. It does not take much brains or discipline to carry out that business model. So, chaos yes, concentration camps no.
Right. Successful businesses get that way by having executives delegating to competent managers to execute policy. His appointments to top posts have not ever managed anything, let alone manage anything effectively. So, chaos.
You and I had a back and forth not long ago, and when I have time later today I intend to re-read this more carefully, which it deserves. However, I have a couple of immediate thoughts. Footnote 2 states (paraphrasing) that Hitler never said he would kill all of us. On Jan 10, 1939 he gave a speech excoriating Jews (as usual) that included this line (not usual):
Today I will once more be a prophet: If the international Jewish financiers in and outside Europe should succeed in plunging the nations once more into a world war, then the result will not be the Bolshevization of the earth, and thus the victory of Jewry, but the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe!
I think that counts as him saying he would kill all Jews.
Second, you stated a belief that if we think Trump will do Hitler things we have already given up (paraphrasing the bottom line right before Hitler history section). I disagree. There is actually nothing a given citizen can do to prevent those things from being done (whatever things, deportation, enemies list etc). What we can do, and what is absolutely not giving up, is resolving to help those individuals that we can, however we can.
I agree completely with your final sentence. Every righteous gentile who hid a Jew during WWII was not giving up. Every person who assists a Trump victim during the next four years is also not giving up.
Thank you for sharing the 1939 speech In it Hitler predicts that an unnamed force of history would annihilate the Jews if they started a war. He does not identify himself as that force of history. Wikipedia thinks Hitler switched from a policy of expulsion to a policy of extermination in 1941. I haven't done enough research to confirmed that.
Here is the link to excerpts from that speech. I gave the very end; I did not want to clutter your feed with multiple paragraphs from Adolph F Hitler. However, if you read the longer excerpts I think you would agree that he was not being coy. At all.
As for expulsion, that may have applied to actual German Jews, but the rest were never going anywhere. It seems that the basic plan was to work them to death (that was also the plan for Slavs in general), but it took too long so they went to mass shootings in the invasion of the USSR and the rest we know.
Thank you for sharing that link to Hitler‘s speech. I was uncomfortably reminded how good an orator he was (something one also finds out in the astonishing museum of the Reichsparteitag in Nuremberg). How would I have reacted to such a speech at the time, without knowledge of the war and holocaust later? I find that a more complex question than I ever expected.
Wow, what an educational summary! I've never been particularly concerned about trump "becoming Hitler", because he's really nothing but a stooge - mostly to his own ego. Between his lack of knowledge, his low intelligence level, and his greed, his concepts and/or plans are all just as interrupted as his thought processes. What I worry about more, are those surrounding him, who have their own plans. Where trump seems content to mouth off and sit lazily on his throne to soak up all the adulation, the majority of his dirty work is relegated to others beneath him. I believe they will work behind his back to implement their own goals/policies (Project 2025, deregulation, etc.), and he'll only dispense with them when/if he figures out that his MAGA supporters are are turning on him. In the mean time, we'll be subject to whatever mayhem is caused by the circus monkeys who each want all the bananas for themselves. And he LOVES that infighting shit! My fear (if you can call it that), is that he will somehow be removed, and Vance will take the throne.
While so many with a liberal bent are hammering on the Dem legislators to DO something (and denouncing the party for any number of reasons), I believe that they are prepared to strategically thwart the efforts of republicans and trump. That doesn't mean none of us are going to be hurt, either physically or economically. But I don't think it's going to help our democracy at all to turn against Dem leadership, when the common goal should be centered around stopping the trump cabal's worst deeds. They (republicans, christian right, Putin, billionaires) need US to be divided and angry, in order to achieve their goals. So far, it appears they have just what they need, because we are anything but focused.
Thank you for sharing your historical perspective, Kathleen! While trump may not resemble Hitler so much as people think, do you give any credence to comparison of certain factions surrounding Hitler and trump? Like the SA and say...the Proud Boys? Or the christian nationalists? I may have missed some notations, but will read again after more coffee 😉
This is a terrific essay comparing Trump to Hitler, and showing how fundamentally different they are. I suspect that Trump admires both Hitler and his generals (those who didn't try to kill him), but this doesn't mean that he easily can do what Hitler did. Trump is a master of the media, more like Goebbels, but has so far been impotent when it comes to achieving anything but media attention.
A very interesting article. I also don’t believe Trump can be another Hitler. He’s not capable or smart enough to be another Franco. He could, however, be another Mussolini.
Excellent post and spot on. From the first I noted that Hitler had his own party and his own security staff that he had overseen the creation of during the 12 years before he came to power. Trump is a master self-marketer and had developed a personal brand over decades that gave him universal name recognition at the start of his campaign in 2015. Rather than build his own organization, he used the electoral potency his brand created to take over an existing party. It is not his creation, he cannot operate it the way Hitler could with his own party.
That was interesting, Kathleen, and I so very much hope you are right and Trump continues to content himself with gaseous, provocative oratory. But I am concerned that this time, he has surrounded himself with incompetents, and folks who want to burn down the social order. They may not be so content with loud-mouthed inaction. There is also the very real possibility that Musk wants the constitution altered to allow him access to the White House....and that he and Donald are either imitating or being directed by Putin. If the House and Senate had any sense, they would impeach and derail this train before we see what it does outside the station...
Remember that it takes ratification by three quarters of the states to approve a constitutional amendment. I doubt that will ever happen. It also takes approval from two thirds of the Congress.
The only member of Trump's team who has any experience within the federal government is Tom Homan who was chief deporter under Obama and Trump 1.0. That's where you will find actual forward momentum in Trump 2.0.
I hope you are right and we only have to endure 4 years of his whining on tv. There is no question in my mind that he wants to rule, and for life, and will start taking measures, encouraged and bankrolled by Musk and other billionaire cronies. I wonder though, how we will reach his voter base and get them to vote in their own best interests going forward?
I look forward to that. Trump is not unique in Western countries in his ability to make right wing, largely racist/sexist voters vote out of fear, vilifying minorities in order to create some us vs them mentality. It is happening in Canada with Poilievre adopting the same campaign tactics. We need to find some way to clear the air and work together to improve life for all citizens, and not be gulled into electing anti-democratic demagogue billionaires.
Kathleen, I have only just found you, though you’ve been a voice of sanity on TFP for ages. I’ve just re-read Simon Sebag Montifiore’s Stalin to try to understand Putin. It’s scary and illuminating. These are not rational actors, though they would say they are: they pursue their irredentist, imperial dreams and, coupled with absolutist powers, they will stop at nothing to achieve them. A mere narcissist like Trump, who thinks everything is transactional, is no match for him. I recall William Manchester’s description of Churchill and chamberlain: he said Chamberlain was not weak - he was a decorated WW1 soldier - but he was at root a Birmingham businessman where always, you could “make a deal”. Churchill was not; he was a statesman and he knew you could never “make a deal” with dictators like Hitler (or Stalin). That’s why Stalin respected him - he saw the enemy.
This would all be reassuring if we were only talking about Trump. I fear Musk more because he is smarter than Trump and knows how to go for the jugular and not be distracted into grandstanding and speech making for a political base.
I could see a scenario in which Trump steps in heroically to end Elon’s excesses and receives the grateful adoration for his deliverance. He’ll say “Elon went too far. Everything’s back to normal. Eggs will be cheaper. Our borders will be safer. But you have nothing to fear from your government.” Meanwhile Elon and his bros have already installed permanent back doors into all the command and control systems of our financial, health, education and military institutions.
Musk has been allowed a far larger role in the first hundred days of the Trump regime than I anticipated. I also didn't anticipate him being allowed to simply burst into government agencies and do whatever he wanted. Hopefully, trump will fire him soon.
This is an important discussion. After the pardons of the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys, the games may begin. One can be pardoned multiple times, I presume. Note how the opposition is “accidentally” disposed in Russia.
Excellent post Kathleen. Thank you for that superb analysis on the differences and similarities between Trump and Hitler. I feel somewhat better. A little bit anyway. 😆
You focus on violence and murder, but those are tactics to gain control. There are other ways.
The scariest part for me is his absolute control of congressional Republicans, senators and house alike. Even his ardent detractors will bow to his power (McConnell). He just killed a bipartisan bill to keep the government open for 3 months with a message and killed bipartisan immigration reform.
When a person has that much power, I would expect it to grow. For me, the big question is where does he want to be because he will have the power to get there. I see Viktor Orban as a closer example than Hitler.
I appreciate your information. I did not know Hitler did not tell people he was killing Jews, but I have trouble believing the word did not get out. And people quietly knew. But even forced resettlement of citizens is a horrible thing to be OK with. You can justify anything.
Led by Rep Chip Roy of Texas, 38 Republican congressman just voted to reject a spending bill that Trump approved of. Trump doesn't win all of the time.
There are 220 house Republicans. The 38 who did not vote with Trump were farther to the right than Trump on this issue. They are not closer to the Democrats.
Democrats often provide cover for ultra right Republicans. The ultra right, knowing that Democrats will stop something, will propose legislation that even they don't like because is red meat to their constituents. They feed the beast and it grows.
You suggest the Democrats keep trying to oppose the Republicans because they can stop some things. That's true but if Trump (or his chosen replacement), follows the Viktor Orban model, he will be in power for decades.
The question isn't whether he will use violence but if he will use the DOJ and the FBI to intimidate his rivals and detractors. Like Orban.
With his pick for Attorney General and FBI director, it's clear this is Trump's intention.
I'm probably one of last people to support crash and burn, but I wonder if it would be better to let the Republicans actually do what they tell people they want to do. It would cause major damage to the US and the World, but if done quickly, many of his followers may not have sufficient time assimilate and justify the damage. It could backfire on Trump.
If Trump stays in power by intimidation, like Orban and others have done, the damage will be done anyway. Just over decades.
I wonder if it would be better to do it quickly and cause enough Trump supporters to dump him, than let the decay happen slowly over decades. Trump's harshness has increased from 2016 to now and People have accepted it because it occurred slowly.
The dog caught the car. The dog is going to do some damage to the car. But if we let the dogs accumulate over decades and get inside the car they will do a lot more damage.
As a side note, have you ever considered starting a new party or modifying the Democratic Party based on the capabilities the internet brings. The internet allows for 2 way communication. The current representative model is based on one way communication.
A candidate talks to the voters via sound bites and catchy messaging. The voters vote once. Then the representative votes on all bills as they see fit. The cycle repeats the next election.
Imagine if the constituents could vote on the bills and let their representative know how they should vote. A candidate would contractually agree to vote as their constituents told them to vote.
Communication would be by the internet, like your substack page (with many enhancements). The candidate could use intelligent, detailed messages as you do on a regular basis. They would not need to rely on sound bites and catchy messaging.
The constituents could discuss the issues among themselves and vote on how their representative should vote on the bill. You substack members would be one group, but there may be thousands of other substack (or Facebook, Bluesky ...) groups discussing among themselves and voting as a group or individuals on how their representative should vote on a bill.
The party would be responsible for setting the rules and aggregating the comments from the groups. And communicating those aggregations back to the members.
Garbage comments and outside influence campaigns could be easily recognized and addressed in detail by the party. The members could easily report garbage. The party could easily fact check and let the members know of bad actors and remove those bad actors from the group (by vote maybe).
There are a lot of technical issues that would need to be worked out. People would have to register by name and address, but could keep their handles for discussion within the group. The names and addresses would only be used to verify a vote.
The internet provides a wonderful way to communicate intelligently and in depth. Millions of people use it for hours a day. How many would use it for 15 minutes a day or week for political purposes, if they thought their comments really mattered in the representative's vote. I'll bet 80%.
The internet is there. The security is there. The 2 way communication is there. Maybe it's time for an update to our representative form of government. You could start this update.
Thank you for writing this all up! As an Austrian, I am reasonably well acquainted with German WWII history and I can only echo the sentiment that Trump has neither the means nor the will to enact large-scale power fantasies. Moreover, the world of 2024 is much, much different that the world of 1933 or 1939 for that matter. War and violence was much closer and well-understood back then and the population was much, much younger. Even then, I always get the feeling that there was only a minority of Germans who welcomed WWII with glee, much in contrast to the mania in 1914. WWI destroyed the taste for war for many.
My concern is that younger citizens do not appreciate the nuclear threat. They do drills against mass shootings--a terrible development-- rather than "duck and cover" against nuclear attack. We need vigilance against and measures to prevent both kinds of danger
William Barr stated on a couple of occasions that Trump lacks discipline to deliver on his policies and would likely deliver chaos. "It is a horror show when he's left to his own devices...Trump will not deliver Trump policies. He will deliver chaos and if anything lead to a backlash'"
Chaos sounds right. I look at his business accomplishments, which were all chaotic messes ending in bankruptcies. He got bailed out by the TV sow, which he was cast in...he didn't think of it or get it off the ground; Barrett did. So, chaos.
For the last 10 or 15 years, he's made most of his money by licensing his name to buildings first, and then gym shoes and Bibles. It does not take much brains or discipline to carry out that business model. So, chaos yes, concentration camps no.
Right. Successful businesses get that way by having executives delegating to competent managers to execute policy. His appointments to top posts have not ever managed anything, let alone manage anything effectively. So, chaos.
Barr at all times drove the getaway car for the Russian Asset, along with Traitor Mcconnell, fuck Barr - COMPLICIT IN TRUMP TREASON.
You and I had a back and forth not long ago, and when I have time later today I intend to re-read this more carefully, which it deserves. However, I have a couple of immediate thoughts. Footnote 2 states (paraphrasing) that Hitler never said he would kill all of us. On Jan 10, 1939 he gave a speech excoriating Jews (as usual) that included this line (not usual):
Today I will once more be a prophet: If the international Jewish financiers in and outside Europe should succeed in plunging the nations once more into a world war, then the result will not be the Bolshevization of the earth, and thus the victory of Jewry, but the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe!
I think that counts as him saying he would kill all Jews.
Second, you stated a belief that if we think Trump will do Hitler things we have already given up (paraphrasing the bottom line right before Hitler history section). I disagree. There is actually nothing a given citizen can do to prevent those things from being done (whatever things, deportation, enemies list etc). What we can do, and what is absolutely not giving up, is resolving to help those individuals that we can, however we can.
I agree completely with your final sentence. Every righteous gentile who hid a Jew during WWII was not giving up. Every person who assists a Trump victim during the next four years is also not giving up.
Thank you for sharing the 1939 speech In it Hitler predicts that an unnamed force of history would annihilate the Jews if they started a war. He does not identify himself as that force of history. Wikipedia thinks Hitler switched from a policy of expulsion to a policy of extermination in 1941. I haven't done enough research to confirmed that.
Here is the link to excerpts from that speech. I gave the very end; I did not want to clutter your feed with multiple paragraphs from Adolph F Hitler. However, if you read the longer excerpts I think you would agree that he was not being coy. At all.
https://www.yadvashem.org/docs/extract-from-hitler-speech.html
As for expulsion, that may have applied to actual German Jews, but the rest were never going anywhere. It seems that the basic plan was to work them to death (that was also the plan for Slavs in general), but it took too long so they went to mass shootings in the invasion of the USSR and the rest we know.
Thank you for sharing that link to Hitler‘s speech. I was uncomfortably reminded how good an orator he was (something one also finds out in the astonishing museum of the Reichsparteitag in Nuremberg). How would I have reacted to such a speech at the time, without knowledge of the war and holocaust later? I find that a more complex question than I ever expected.
Wow, what an educational summary! I've never been particularly concerned about trump "becoming Hitler", because he's really nothing but a stooge - mostly to his own ego. Between his lack of knowledge, his low intelligence level, and his greed, his concepts and/or plans are all just as interrupted as his thought processes. What I worry about more, are those surrounding him, who have their own plans. Where trump seems content to mouth off and sit lazily on his throne to soak up all the adulation, the majority of his dirty work is relegated to others beneath him. I believe they will work behind his back to implement their own goals/policies (Project 2025, deregulation, etc.), and he'll only dispense with them when/if he figures out that his MAGA supporters are are turning on him. In the mean time, we'll be subject to whatever mayhem is caused by the circus monkeys who each want all the bananas for themselves. And he LOVES that infighting shit! My fear (if you can call it that), is that he will somehow be removed, and Vance will take the throne.
While so many with a liberal bent are hammering on the Dem legislators to DO something (and denouncing the party for any number of reasons), I believe that they are prepared to strategically thwart the efforts of republicans and trump. That doesn't mean none of us are going to be hurt, either physically or economically. But I don't think it's going to help our democracy at all to turn against Dem leadership, when the common goal should be centered around stopping the trump cabal's worst deeds. They (republicans, christian right, Putin, billionaires) need US to be divided and angry, in order to achieve their goals. So far, it appears they have just what they need, because we are anything but focused.
Thank you for sharing your historical perspective, Kathleen! While trump may not resemble Hitler so much as people think, do you give any credence to comparison of certain factions surrounding Hitler and trump? Like the SA and say...the Proud Boys? Or the christian nationalists? I may have missed some notations, but will read again after more coffee 😉
No American militia or paramilitary is under Trump's direct control. He can hint at his wishes, but that's much less effective.
The portrait of the men surrounding Hitler is chilling - I just finished Netflix's "Hitler's Circle of Evil" and recommend it.
This is a terrific essay comparing Trump to Hitler, and showing how fundamentally different they are. I suspect that Trump admires both Hitler and his generals (those who didn't try to kill him), but this doesn't mean that he easily can do what Hitler did. Trump is a master of the media, more like Goebbels, but has so far been impotent when it comes to achieving anything but media attention.
Yes!
Kathleen, very impressive post and excellent job of research in parsing the difference betweeen Trump and Hitler.
A very interesting article. I also don’t believe Trump can be another Hitler. He’s not capable or smart enough to be another Franco. He could, however, be another Mussolini.
Excellent post and spot on. From the first I noted that Hitler had his own party and his own security staff that he had overseen the creation of during the 12 years before he came to power. Trump is a master self-marketer and had developed a personal brand over decades that gave him universal name recognition at the start of his campaign in 2015. Rather than build his own organization, he used the electoral potency his brand created to take over an existing party. It is not his creation, he cannot operate it the way Hitler could with his own party.
That was interesting, Kathleen, and I so very much hope you are right and Trump continues to content himself with gaseous, provocative oratory. But I am concerned that this time, he has surrounded himself with incompetents, and folks who want to burn down the social order. They may not be so content with loud-mouthed inaction. There is also the very real possibility that Musk wants the constitution altered to allow him access to the White House....and that he and Donald are either imitating or being directed by Putin. If the House and Senate had any sense, they would impeach and derail this train before we see what it does outside the station...
Remember that it takes ratification by three quarters of the states to approve a constitutional amendment. I doubt that will ever happen. It also takes approval from two thirds of the Congress.
The only member of Trump's team who has any experience within the federal government is Tom Homan who was chief deporter under Obama and Trump 1.0. That's where you will find actual forward momentum in Trump 2.0.
I hope you are right and we only have to endure 4 years of his whining on tv. There is no question in my mind that he wants to rule, and for life, and will start taking measures, encouraged and bankrolled by Musk and other billionaire cronies. I wonder though, how we will reach his voter base and get them to vote in their own best interests going forward?
My next post will offer my ideas on how to reach SOME of Trump's voters next time.
I look forward to that. Trump is not unique in Western countries in his ability to make right wing, largely racist/sexist voters vote out of fear, vilifying minorities in order to create some us vs them mentality. It is happening in Canada with Poilievre adopting the same campaign tactics. We need to find some way to clear the air and work together to improve life for all citizens, and not be gulled into electing anti-democratic demagogue billionaires.
And, I have to add, I am sick and tired of the politics of grievance. It ruins our ability to make things better.
Kathleen, I have only just found you, though you’ve been a voice of sanity on TFP for ages. I’ve just re-read Simon Sebag Montifiore’s Stalin to try to understand Putin. It’s scary and illuminating. These are not rational actors, though they would say they are: they pursue their irredentist, imperial dreams and, coupled with absolutist powers, they will stop at nothing to achieve them. A mere narcissist like Trump, who thinks everything is transactional, is no match for him. I recall William Manchester’s description of Churchill and chamberlain: he said Chamberlain was not weak - he was a decorated WW1 soldier - but he was at root a Birmingham businessman where always, you could “make a deal”. Churchill was not; he was a statesman and he knew you could never “make a deal” with dictators like Hitler (or Stalin). That’s why Stalin respected him - he saw the enemy.
Good ideas! What is TFP?
Trump is more like P.T. Barnum than Hitler; both his friends and his enemies think too highly of the clown show.
The Hitler comparisons let the Democrats off the hook for being stooges for their donors, which is why I personally avoid making them.
Excellent article! Thank you for sharing the truth of history.
This would all be reassuring if we were only talking about Trump. I fear Musk more because he is smarter than Trump and knows how to go for the jugular and not be distracted into grandstanding and speech making for a political base.
I could see a scenario in which Trump steps in heroically to end Elon’s excesses and receives the grateful adoration for his deliverance. He’ll say “Elon went too far. Everything’s back to normal. Eggs will be cheaper. Our borders will be safer. But you have nothing to fear from your government.” Meanwhile Elon and his bros have already installed permanent back doors into all the command and control systems of our financial, health, education and military institutions.
Musk has been allowed a far larger role in the first hundred days of the Trump regime than I anticipated. I also didn't anticipate him being allowed to simply burst into government agencies and do whatever he wanted. Hopefully, trump will fire him soon.
This is an important discussion. After the pardons of the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys, the games may begin. One can be pardoned multiple times, I presume. Note how the opposition is “accidentally” disposed in Russia.
https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/dictatorship-is-choreographed?r=3m1bs
It would be very important to know whether any such "accidents" have happened in the US.
Excellent post Kathleen. Thank you for that superb analysis on the differences and similarities between Trump and Hitler. I feel somewhat better. A little bit anyway. 😆
You focus on violence and murder, but those are tactics to gain control. There are other ways.
The scariest part for me is his absolute control of congressional Republicans, senators and house alike. Even his ardent detractors will bow to his power (McConnell). He just killed a bipartisan bill to keep the government open for 3 months with a message and killed bipartisan immigration reform.
When a person has that much power, I would expect it to grow. For me, the big question is where does he want to be because he will have the power to get there. I see Viktor Orban as a closer example than Hitler.
I appreciate your information. I did not know Hitler did not tell people he was killing Jews, but I have trouble believing the word did not get out. And people quietly knew. But even forced resettlement of citizens is a horrible thing to be OK with. You can justify anything.
Led by Rep Chip Roy of Texas, 38 Republican congressman just voted to reject a spending bill that Trump approved of. Trump doesn't win all of the time.
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/worlds-greatest-innovator-cant-build
There are 220 house Republicans. The 38 who did not vote with Trump were farther to the right than Trump on this issue. They are not closer to the Democrats.
Democrats often provide cover for ultra right Republicans. The ultra right, knowing that Democrats will stop something, will propose legislation that even they don't like because is red meat to their constituents. They feed the beast and it grows.
You suggest the Democrats keep trying to oppose the Republicans because they can stop some things. That's true but if Trump (or his chosen replacement), follows the Viktor Orban model, he will be in power for decades.
The question isn't whether he will use violence but if he will use the DOJ and the FBI to intimidate his rivals and detractors. Like Orban.
With his pick for Attorney General and FBI director, it's clear this is Trump's intention.
I'm probably one of last people to support crash and burn, but I wonder if it would be better to let the Republicans actually do what they tell people they want to do. It would cause major damage to the US and the World, but if done quickly, many of his followers may not have sufficient time assimilate and justify the damage. It could backfire on Trump.
If Trump stays in power by intimidation, like Orban and others have done, the damage will be done anyway. Just over decades.
I wonder if it would be better to do it quickly and cause enough Trump supporters to dump him, than let the decay happen slowly over decades. Trump's harshness has increased from 2016 to now and People have accepted it because it occurred slowly.
The dog caught the car. The dog is going to do some damage to the car. But if we let the dogs accumulate over decades and get inside the car they will do a lot more damage.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/20/us/politics/republican-defectors-trump.html
As a side note, have you ever considered starting a new party or modifying the Democratic Party based on the capabilities the internet brings. The internet allows for 2 way communication. The current representative model is based on one way communication.
A candidate talks to the voters via sound bites and catchy messaging. The voters vote once. Then the representative votes on all bills as they see fit. The cycle repeats the next election.
Imagine if the constituents could vote on the bills and let their representative know how they should vote. A candidate would contractually agree to vote as their constituents told them to vote.
Communication would be by the internet, like your substack page (with many enhancements). The candidate could use intelligent, detailed messages as you do on a regular basis. They would not need to rely on sound bites and catchy messaging.
The constituents could discuss the issues among themselves and vote on how their representative should vote on the bill. You substack members would be one group, but there may be thousands of other substack (or Facebook, Bluesky ...) groups discussing among themselves and voting as a group or individuals on how their representative should vote on a bill.
The party would be responsible for setting the rules and aggregating the comments from the groups. And communicating those aggregations back to the members.
Garbage comments and outside influence campaigns could be easily recognized and addressed in detail by the party. The members could easily report garbage. The party could easily fact check and let the members know of bad actors and remove those bad actors from the group (by vote maybe).
There are a lot of technical issues that would need to be worked out. People would have to register by name and address, but could keep their handles for discussion within the group. The names and addresses would only be used to verify a vote.
The internet provides a wonderful way to communicate intelligently and in depth. Millions of people use it for hours a day. How many would use it for 15 minutes a day or week for political purposes, if they thought their comments really mattered in the representative's vote. I'll bet 80%.
The internet is there. The security is there. The 2 way communication is there. Maybe it's time for an update to our representative form of government. You could start this update.
Agree about Orban.