Americans that voted for him are going to find out that they didn't want what they voted for.
I sure as hell hope you're right. I am someone who never, ever understood how anyone voted for Trump. Saw him for the first time on a talk show in 2011 and couldn't believe the level of blatant, brazen lying he was capable of. And, until last month, I rested on the comfortable assumption that his base was around 33% and he could only prevail with a lot of independent voters. I don't think so, anymore. I think the level of Trump Acceptance has crept up in the past 8 years. The Rise of the Stupid.
Here is Trump, telling a story on the campaign trail this past fall:
"
You're a parent and your son leaves the house and you say, 'Jimmy, I love you so much. Go have a good day in school. And your son comes back with a brutal operation." (Trump means gender reassignment surgery.) "
Can you even imagine this?"
Here's another version, the one Trump told the Moms for Liberty:
"
This transgender thing is incredible. Think of it: Your kid goes to school and comes back a few days later with an operation. The school decides what's going to happen with your child. And you know, many of these childs (sic),
fifteen years later, say, 'What the hell happened? Who did this to me?'"
Now, there are just a few conclusions you can arrive at, concerning anyone who would tell such a preposterous story:
A, If he believes it, he is divorced from reality and has real cognitive issues. Someone who believed the story would be mentally unstable and in no way should he be trusted with running a country, making military decisions and proposing policy.
B, If he knows it's a lie, he is cynical to the core and contemptuous of the intelligence level of his audience. He has no integrity whatever and cannot be trusted to do anything for the good of the country.
I'm not sure there's a third conclusion.
Then consider the conclusions to be reached about anyone who would vote for this politician.
A, They don't know that he said something so crazy, because they stick to right wing 'news' sites that wouldn't bring up Trump's bizarre fantasies. (Uninformed/apathetic voter.)
B, They know Trump said it, and they believe it. (Divorced from reality/Gaslit beyond redemption)
C, They know he said it, think it is just one of his exaggerations, and are willing to overlook it if he can do something about the price of bacon. (Cynical + gullible.) (And this type of voter may be aware that this very week, Trump rescinded his promise that he could do anything about high prices.)
D, They know he said it, but Kamala would be so much worse. (Probably a common conclusion, but then you'd need to tell me how Kamala was delusional or contemptuous of the truth, and you'd have to tell me how unstable a President you'd be willing to elect, just to avoid a Democrat administration.)
I really don't think any successful politician could have told this Jimmy Got Emasculated at School story even 20 years ago and have prevailed with his party's nomination or at the polls. We're in a new, fogbound age dominated by a cult mentality, and I don't see any hopeful signs at this point. Trump leaving the scene in whatever fashion won't necessarily change a thing. There's a long line of hopeful replacements ready to take up the crazy banner.
Once again, I hope you're right that Trump II will be so draconian and destructive that he will destroy his brand. But the guy already led hundreds of thousands of the faithful to their coffins with his stupidity during the pandemic, and left the economy in a smoking gully at the end of 2020. I'd like to think that he won't be able to talk his way out of future disasters. We'll see...
