Sowers: Trump’s glitter is not gold

In the 2020 election, Donald J. Trump tried to play the game, “Heads, I Win; Tails, You Lose.” He had it planned. If he did not win, then he would say it was rigged and blame Joe Biden. Trump lied. And he tried to overthrow the election. Can we speculate on Trump’s future behavior based on his past behavior?

If Trump loses the 2024 election, then he will use the “2020 election rig” trick again. Radicalized Trumpers — who are already primed for this (false) “proof” — will go wild. Trump could issue an emergency call aimed at his most radical supporters. It would surely be a lot stronger than his Jan. 6 “fight like hell” statement. Trump could, over the internet, instantly “deputize” and pre-pardon all his armed and militant volunteer “freedom fighters” in the name of “Save America.”

What happens if Trump really does win? Well, he said he will be “going after” his enemies and people he doesn’t like. Being that he hates any news he does not like — and calls it “fake news,” regardless of its actual truth — he will set up a media censorship system to make sure the media tells only Trump’s side of stories. He has already said he would be a dictator for one day. But, at the end of that day, he could say, “Oh, I need just one more day!” Or he could just continue to act like a medieval king. Parts of our government are already on his list to be shut down. He will fire existing and experienced government workers and give those jobs only to those who would do what Trump says, not what our Constitution says. This would degrade government function. Articles on Trump and “Project 2025” (see Wikipedia) sound like — if you read between the lines — a coordinated plan to vastly expand the powers of the president and remake the USA into a permanent one-party political state with a gestapo.

Two Wikipedia articles, titled “Presidential Emergency Action Documents” and “United States federal government continuity of operations,” explain the history of how liberty and civil rights of American citizens can be reduced, the Constitution suspended and the entire U.S. political system and even state borders could be dissolved. These documents were set up many years ago to help keep the USA “together” in case of nuclear war with the then-Soviet Union. However, consider that the purpose of these provisions could be perverted by abuse of power (Trump has a history of abusing his power) to damage, rather than protect, democracy and to establish a totalitarian state. Suppose a national emergency — real or fake — sets in motion what these documents allow. Democracy ends in a day.

Arthur E. Sowers

Harbeson

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