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— OPINION —
All the way back in the summer of 2019, we said that the worst-case scenario in the 2020 election might just be a narrow defeat of Donald Trump.
Back then, we mapped out a series of events that would lead to armed MAGA supporters taking to the streets — e.g., before storming the Capitol — because they were misled to believe that the election had been stolen from the then-president.
Even though Trump’s loss did not turn out to be all that narrow, many of those events came to transpire, and our prediction was mostly right.
Of course, in retrospect, everybody should have seen what was coming. Back then, we wrote this:
The things that make Trump a terrible president would make him an even worse loser of an election: He lies a lot, is corrupt, loves crazy conspiracy theories, allows foreign powers to undermine the US if it benefits him, will do anything to protect himself — even to the detriment of the country — and a sizable segment of the population follows him religiously and believes every word that is coming out of his mouth.
Why are we telling you this?
Primarily, so that you will believe our prediction for the upcoming election.
Over the past five years, things have become even more complicated… and Trump more volatile.
His Big Lie worked well enough the first time around to almost guarantee that he will try again. He has become more unhinged, and his personal freedom is at stake now that he is a convicted felon facing additional charges in three criminal cases (granted, one has been dismissed by a judge he appointed, but that will likely be overturned).
In other words, everything is on the line for the world’s foremost malignant narcissist and sociopath.
And Trump knows all of this (well, maybe not the part about him getting even crazier), which is why he has been laying the groundwork for Big Lie 2.0.
For months, he has been telling his supporters that the only way he can lose is if the Democrats cheat… and they believe him, of course.
In addition, new laws in GOP-run swing states, as well as some of Trump’s election-denying minions who have wormed themselves into a position to gum up the works, will add chaos to the mix if it looks as though he will lose again.
Add to that his original expectation that he would beat President Joe Biden in a rematch, only to find out that he would have to face a much more formidable opponent.
For all of these reasons, there is only one outcome in November that will prevent bedlam: Trump mustn’t just be defeated; he has to be pummeled.
But before we get to that, let’s look at the other possible scenarios.
The first is that Trump wins.
While it seems more likely than not that he’ll lose the popular vote for a third straight time, the Electoral College gives Republicans such a major edge that it might very well be enough for Trump to come out ahead.
Of course, he probably won’t have anything even close to resembling a mandate, but that won’t matter.
Trump 2.0 will feature a heavy dose of Project 2025 overseen by a mentally ill person pursuing personal vendettas with a Supreme Court-issued get-out-of-jail card.
Sound like fun?
Let’s just say that, if you want a career criminal motivated by greed, revenge, and adulation (in that order) to run the United States of America, then it’ll be an amazing four years.
Specifically, Trump will put personal profit ahead of the nation’s interest in previously unimaginable ways… and the world’s worst authoritarian governments will take advantage of it: If you help him line his pockets, you get to do just about whatever you want.
Then, after having whined about it for four years, Trump will actually weaponize the justice system in a way not seen since McCarthyism.
Finally, because he needs validation the way other people need food, he will implement some of the policies he has promised his supporters… and they will wreck the US economy and civil rights.
Just take his plan of deporting millions of migrants. To white nationalists and believers in the “great replacement theory,” that probably sounds fine. To hundreds of thousands of employers, it will be a nightmare when a sizable portion of their workforce just disappears. That is especially true because the unemployment rate is so low that there simply aren’t enough workers to fill those jobs.
The only saving graces are Trump’s incompetence and that he is so self-absorbed that he will focus more on his personal benefit than an extreme agenda.
Next up is the narrow loss scenario.
We already know how that will go. There are two big differences from last time around — one good and one bad.
The good one is that Trump isn’t in power.
The bad one is that he has had practice and knows for sure that tens of millions of Republicans will believe him no matter what ridiculous conspiracy he conjures up for them.
There is no telling what they will do… but it won’t be pretty. If Trump can whip them into a frenzy, they may make January 6 look like a walk in the park.
And that brings us to the only good ending: a resounding victory for Kamala Harris.
We’re talking about winning most of the swing states (preferably by comfortable margins), making some states like Texas, Ohio, and Florida at least somewhat competitive, and trouncing the former president by about 10 million votes (give or take a couple of million).
And, while the Democrats currently portray themselves as the underdogs in this election, it is important that Harris enter the home stretch as the favorite.
In other words, the country has to expect her to win and, on Election Day, there has to be no doubt that she did.
Anything less than that will result in chaos.
Believe us, we know what we are talking about (if you doubt it, read this).
