[Mathgod]

Originally Posted by GGG

I read that and said I resemble the first person of not being concerned before it’s too late.

But I think the second sentence is what is important. That it is only society’s belief in the norms of democracy that upholds democracy. My contention is exactly that. The US norms around democracy are such that Trump will be unable to hold onto to power beyond this term.

Ok, if Trump wins 2024, let's assume for the sake of argument he won't be able to stay in office beyond 2028.

Does that make the danger of Trump and his movement any less threatening? I'd argue it doesn't.

Trump's ability to suppress/shut down media outlets and voices that do anything other than lick his boots, is far greater now than it was in 2017. He's got the Supreme Court in his pocket, and a plan to replace the staff of all government agencies (including FBI, CIA, DOJ, FCC, NSA) with hardline loyalists and fascists. Once the agencies have been re-staffed, Trump will have sweeping powers to shut down unfriendly outlets by simply declaring them a threat to the country.

He's already said that he wants to silence everyone from CBS to MSNBC to late night comedy hosts.

So by 2028, the media in America will be similar to the media in Russia. Trump will have massive majority support simply because dissenting voices won't be heard by the public.

If you note in my comments all I said was that the complete dismantling into a dictatorship would take longer than Trumps term. I did not say the US would continue to have free and fair elections. (Though I think it is more likely than not that an election which the republicans could lose will still occur, the oligarchy benefits from the two party system)

I'd argue that a country that has "elections" where only one party has any chance of winning (due to an authoritarian crackdown on political opposition) is functionally not that different from a dictatorship (or just simply is one). As for the US oligarchy, I think you'll find they're largely backing Trump.

I also think what the article doesn’t recognize is the number of times when a person with autocratic tendencies took power and was unable to seize power because of the said norms. The Prime example being Trump last time.

This is reductive. Trump didn't try to seize power last time until the very last minute when he realize he had just lost the election. He flailed and tried everything he could to maintain his hold on the presidency, but due to lack of preparation his efforts failed. This time around, he and his people have had 4 years to prepare a much more well thought out plan for turning America into a fascist dictatorship. Project 2025 is a big part of that.

Ultimately to sieze power people will need to be willing to throw people out windows until resistance stops. I don’t think we are there yet.

I don't think this is the case. Who needs to be thrown out a window for Trump to implement schedule F and silence his political opponents?