General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsYou know he's not planning on leaving after 2028, right?
Someone who is now openly seeking to persecute his political opponents is not someone who is planning on relinquishing power democratically. Not even to someone of his own party if he or she is elected democratically.
He said he wanted to prosecute people who opposed him, and mentioned Comey by name. He did.
He said he wanted to get media figures who criticized him taken off the air, like Jimmy Kimmel. He did (at least temporarily.)
He said he would not accept the result of an election if it did not favor him. In 2020, he refused to accept his loss.
He told groups like the Proud Boys to "stand back and stand by" if he lost in 2020. They did.
So when he keeps on "joking" about wanting to be President past 2028, he's not joking. He literally has "Trump 2028" hats on display at the White House. And whether it's trying to push some bullshit claim that he's entitled to a 3rd term, or simply ignoring the transfer of power altogether, he doesn't have any designs on wanting to step down from his throne.
The only way I see him not wanting to press on indefinitely is if God willing his diet finally catches up to him at long last and we see a well-deserved coronary event. And while we see pictures of him and hope that he continues to deteriorate, absent that type of game-changing event I don't see him wanting to relinquish anything.
We have already crossed the level into authoritarianism. Right now we are at least at the level of Orban's Hungary, and it will only get worse.

JI7
(92,695 posts)And if that bastard's heart is still working, he'll still be demanding to stay in power, no matter how sick his mind gets.
Many hope dead before 2028
I am convinced that they are infusing him with stem cells to keep him alive...
Trueblue1968
(18,803 posts)EddieOnTheMesa
(75 posts)South Park has Satan carrying the Orange guys baby. Scary shit.
Chasstev365
(6,325 posts)Bet on it!
sheshe2
(93,990 posts)Aristus
(70,960 posts)
sheshe2
(93,990 posts)

BannonsLiver
(19,677 posts)I think natural causes will have a say in all of that.
Blues Heron
(7,619 posts)Irish_Dem
(75,303 posts)If the cost benefit ratio is no longer to their benefit.
Initech
(106,407 posts)And right now, waiting for the former option may take too long.
Frasier Balzov
(4,580 posts)and stop him with a Democratic Congress, then this is the destiny they will have chosen for the nation.
dalton99a
(90,403 posts)EarthAbides
(371 posts)If there are elections in 2026 they will be rigged to favor repulicans.
Fiendish Thingy
(20,854 posts)Unless there is a military coup beforehand, someone not named Trump will be inaugurated as president (and VP) on January 20, 2029.
Without the military stepping in, Trump cannot stop that transition of power.
Dont give in to the mythology that asserts that Trump is omnipotent and the states and the people are powerless.
Scrivener7
(57,294 posts)Pachamama
(17,483 posts)
yonder
(10,151 posts)Tommy Carcetti
(44,234 posts)Our basic structures held in 2020-21, but just barely.
By a thread.
It was horrifying how close we came to it falling apart then.
Fiendish Thingy
(20,854 posts)But Trump will leave office at the end of this term, if not sooner.
GreenWave
(11,694 posts)CoopersDad
(3,235 posts)And that tech bros and the media are joining the US Supreme Court in enabling this, it seems inevitable.
Gavin Newsom seems to be the only major elected willing to come out in full force against him.
appmanga
(1,275 posts)Would you want Steven Miller or even Marco Rubio on your corporate board? Half the lawyers are going to be disbarred. There are no prospects for these people other than to stay in power. But most people still refuse to believe it until it happens.
Prairie Gates
(6,343 posts)and that his second consecutive term was stolen from him illegally, and he therefore has a right to correct the error, and he will run in 2028.
You will begin hearing about two consecutive elections / terms in relation to the 22nd Amendment more and more, and especially if the GOP holds either the House or the Senate in 2026. It will become a common phrase on Fox and all the MAGA outlets. The Supreme Court - a corrupt Trump organ at this point - will almost certainly ratify this aberrant reading of the clear text of the Amendment.
This will also cause a rift with Vance, who was almost certainly brought on board with a promise that he was the heir apparent (Vance has disappeared and pouted at any suggestion that Don Jr. might run).
bif
(26,246 posts)Fortunately for all of us, he will assume room temperature in less than a year.

Doodley
(11,423 posts)delay the election.
indusurb
(266 posts)He'll be doing good to make it to the 2026 election. His health is rapidly catching up to him. Then we'll be stuck with Vance, whose handlers will insure he has two more terms in office, and the way things are going, more than that.
walkingman
(9,874 posts)That confirms my opinion that as bad as it seems to me, there are millions of people that actually like him, his actions, his nastiness.
America has two religions... money and faith. Trump's image as a wealthy and successful businessman and the narrative that he was "chosen by God" to fight the culture wars and promote Christian Nationalism is a winning combination in American politics. A fusion of wealth and faith.....the American Dream.
Would he win again??
FloridaBlues
(4,615 posts)walkingman
(9,874 posts)I hope that this barrage of BS slows down, otherwise we risk it being viewed as normal. Corruption is an unfortunate part of American history, but I can't remember it at this scale.
Kaleva
(39,954 posts)Deep State Witch
(12,246 posts)If he's still alive, he'll remain in office. If not, Shady Vance will take over.
hamsterjill
(16,590 posts)He tried it in 2020 and thanks to Mike Pence (and it pains my ass enormously to say that), he didn't get his way.
When he got back in, many of us - MOST of us with any sanity left - have been saying that he has no intention of leaving at the end of this term. He wouldn't have done all he's done if he had any expectation of leaving. The ballroom? The Rose Garden? All of the tacky-ass gold? Plus, all that is mentioned in the OP.
He is old, yes, and eventually he will die. But his supporters and the Gestapo that he's formed around himself will do everything they can to keep his ass alive for as long as they can. He will have medical treatments that you or I could only dream of having access to. So I wouldn't count on "longevity".
I'm SO sick of seeing the videos of ICE treating people so horribly. I'm sick of people not knowing where their relatives have been taken, whether they are safe, much less still alive.
I'm tired of him going after people just because he has the power to do it.
I'm sick of the sonofabitch period. And I'm sick of the idiots who keep supporting him or ever voted for him in the first place.
Ocelot II
(127,423 posts)hamsterjill
(16,590 posts)He will go after anyone he can.
Was there some kid that snubbed Trump back in the third grade? Well, if there was, he'd better lawyer up!
themaguffin
(4,691 posts)Figarosmom
(8,731 posts)Wild blueberry
(7,913 posts)Orange chud has no sense of humor.
We'll see what the actuarial tables bring.
Kablooie
(18,984 posts)Once his traitors run that he will own the country.
EarthAbides
(371 posts)Hegseth has called an emergency meeting of all generals on Tuesday, in person, they can't telecall, like they would normally do. This was done in Germany in 1930 where the generals were ordered to obey the fuhrer and not the law.
NNadir
(36,644 posts)...something on which believers and non-believers can agree upon.
Emile
(37,787 posts)Kaleva
(39,954 posts)AverageOldGuy
(2,995 posts)I agree that Trump has no intention of leaving. So let's look at our options, admittedly a lot of this is speculation.
He runs in 2028 and is elected.
He will be 83 when he is supposed to take office in 2029 (born July 13, 1946) if he is still alive.
If he dies before November 2028, a big part of the problem will be solved.
If he runs and wins, then what?
His dispatch of National Guard to cities has nothing to do with crime -- it's about dry runs for dispatcing NG or active military to seize voting equipment and records.
WTF do we do? He will do this only in a few cities that vote for Democrats and that have so many voters they swing the election in their state.
Do the county/town/city/state election officials meet the troops with force and refuse to turn over anything?
What will local and state law enforcement do?
And what if he tries the same thing in November 2026?
He doesn't run, Vance does, and they do the same thing with troops seizing voting equipment and records.
WTF do we and local officials do?
He dies before the 206 or 2028 elections.
Vance succeeds him and keeps the same gaggle of Nazis in the administration and proceeds to control elections.
I could go on and on with scenarios but the bottom line of all of them is that he commands a LOT of guys with guns, including military formations. Will troops fire on civilians? WHY DO YOU SUPPOSE HEGSETH HAS CALLED IN ALL THE GENERALS AND ADMIRALS TO MEET WITH HIM??
I know this comment will get me banned, but -- 28 years in the Army; year in Vietnam with a rucksack on my back and an M16 in my hand. I'm almost 81. I also own a nice collection of firearms -- hunting rifles that can take out a target at over 700 yards; AR-15 that can put out a lot of bullets in a short time. Shotguns, pistols. If it ever comes to it, then "shoot if you must this old grey head" but several Gestapo are going with me. Believe it.
dwayneb
(1,043 posts)I can't disagree with anything you've posted here.
Never served in the military but I'd stand with you.
Orrex
(66,080 posts)In the past 50 years, no single event has had a more immediate positive effect worldwide than his death by natural causes would bring.
hlthe2b
(111,459 posts)(Google it if you can't guess)
Orrex
(66,080 posts)What a maroon!
gulliver
(13,519 posts)More likely it will be J.D. Vance as next President.
I'm still hoping that we Dems can get our act together, but I have to admit, I don't see the kind of soul searching and hard-eyed thought work I would have liked to have seen so far. As it is, we might squeak in just barely with somebody like Newsom.
Our main friend in that would be Trump's incompetence and that things go south for the United States. It would not be our clear-eyed, persistent, and courageous vision of a future Democratic Party. A lot of us are currently a little lazy and hoping for being the lesser of two evils. We need to express a positive vision and to de-mic the undemocratic and illiberal hangers on who hurt our credibility.
BlueTsunami2018
(4,635 posts)But very few are willing to do what its going to take. Too soft, too comfortable, too propagandized against the things we need, too scared to get hurt or hurt others, even though theyre fascists.
But thats it. The choices are, fight them for real or submit to the boot.
The whole American experiment is over. Were not voting our way out of this. The system has failed.
There isnt any opposition to capitalism anymore. The only reason we got the crumbs we did get in the new deal and the great society was to prevent a workers revolution, to placate the white working class. It wasnt out of the goodness of anyones heart or some kind of progressive awakening. They dont have to do that anymore. There arent any major socialist states for the People to point to and say we want some of that. Because capitalism wore them out. And theyre coming for Europe too. Fascism is on the rise everywhere in the western world.
There isnt a Red Army anymore to come and destroy the fascists, we have to do it ourselves.
It sure doesnt seem like Americans are up to the task. Were too busy fighting each other over stupid shit, much to the ruling class delight.
Fight or submit. Thats all there is now.
dwayneb
(1,043 posts)bigtree
(92,656 posts)...given his decripit state and age.
kentuck
(114,710 posts)I doubt we will make it to 2028 with any government intact.
B.See
(6,769 posts)they wouldn't have to vote again. So no question in MY mind as to what he's planning.
Johonny
(24,767 posts)It seems like Vance has no intention of letting Trump stay . . .
LetMyPeopleVote
(170,242 posts)
dwayneb
(1,043 posts)Anyone who has been paying attention knows that Trump's ambition is to stay in power for the rest of his life if possible. Just like Putin.
He will do everything in his power to corrupt our system of elections. It's an amalgam of state and local officials and volunteers, and it has always been vulnerable. That's the first goal.
Then as you say, if the election turns out the "wrong way" Trump could simply ignore the result. Cause a Constitutional crisis and implement some form of martial law.
I disagree that if Trump goes away tomorrow that the Fascist Right will cede their power. Trump didn't write Project 2025. There are plenty of people some of them far worse that Trump ready willing and awaiting to take the throne.
Norbert
(7,387 posts)unless cardio vascular disease has other plans.