Depending on where you stand on the political/ideological spectrum, former President Donald Trump represents one of two wildly different things:
- For Democrats and leftists, he’s a looming dictatorial boogeyman that will destroy this country
- For Republicans and conservatives, he’s one of the very last glimmers of hope to save this country
Ironically enough, both of those divergent sentiments are rooted in the same two things: The increasing likelihood of a second Trump term and whatever plans Trump would bring to that hypothetical term.
Take, for instance, this doomsday (but kind of cool-sounding) headline from The Guardian, a left-leaning outlet.
“‘A revenge term’: what would another four years of Trump look like?” the article’s headline reads, right above a photo that suspiciously looks like it’s trying to give Trump devil horns with some less-than-flattering positioning.
“It is a cold day in Washington,” the loquacious author, David Smith, began. “A crowd is gathering on the National Mall for the swearing-in of the 47th president of the United States. At noon on 20 January 2025, Donald Trump places his hand on a Bible, takes the oath of office and delivers an inaugural address with a simple theme: retribution.
“This is the nightmare scenario for millions of Americans — and one that they are increasingly being forced to take seriously. Opinion polls show Trump running away with the Republican presidential nomination and narrowly leading Democrat Joe Biden in a hypothetical match-up. Political pundits can offer plenty of caveats but almost all agree that the race for the White House next year will be very close.”
This is where Smith and his employer’s left-leaning vibes come through: “The fact that there is a more than remote chance of the twice impeached, quadruply indicted former US president returning to the Oval Office is ringing alarm bells.”
Hilariously, Smith opted to quote failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on an episode of “The View” to illustrate how alarmed the masses were.
Will Trump win in 2024?
Yes: 100% (15 Votes)
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“‘I think it would be the end of our country as we know it,’ Hillary Clinton, who lost to Trump in 2016, said on the ABC talkshow The View this week. ‘And I don’t say that lightly,’” Smith wrote.
Oh, brother.
New flash, Mrs. Clinton: The “country as we know it” is not doing too hot right now. Maybe the end of that would be okay.
But enough fear-mongering from the Clintons, what could possibly make up something so sinister as to be labeled a “revenge term”?
“Trump has promised to pardon January 6 insurrectionists in a second term. The Axios website has reported on his plan to dismantle the ‘deep state’ by purging potentially thousands of civil servants and appointing ideological loyalists. A recent New York Times newspaper article told how his team wants to fill the White House and government agencies with aggressive rightwing lawyers who would not challenge the expansion of presidential power,” Smith explained.
It’s funny because if you break that down for a conservative (or even moderate or Libertarian) here’s what they would hear: “Trump is going to free overly-punished and incarcerated Americans, he’s going to dismantle the ‘deep state’ (that one was easy to translate), and he doesn’t want to be stymied by nosy little pencil-pushers haranguing him every step of the way.”
That all sounds great, honestly. (The Guardian’s article includes a lot of genuinely questionable stuff Trump is purporting to do, but everything is couched with “discussing how” or “considering invoking”-type qualifier.)
Smith would then quote Allan Lichtman, a history professor in Washington.
“It would be a disaster for America,” Lichtman said. “He’s already made it very clear that his second term is going to be a revenge term. He’s going to use the power of government to persecute and prosecute his enemies and to cement his own power, or at least the power of his allies and cronies.
“He’s already shown he has no respect for the law or for the traditions of American democracy and so a second Trump term would be very frightening. The overwhelming consensus of scientists is that we are getting close to the point of no return on climate change and four years of Trump would be a disaster for the planet. He wants to drill and dig and burn.”
Again, for most Americans, drilling and digging to bring down the excruciating cost at the gas pump would probably be a good thing.
Now, to be completely fair, this all brings to mind an uncomfortable truth: Trump didn’t accomplish nearly what he needed or wanted to do in his first term.
Due in no small part to those nosy little pencil-pushers, Trump had much of his agenda stymied in his first presidential term. Government bureaucracy and thick, red tape hampered Trump virtually anytime he tried to enact “America First” legislature.
If things are to be different and more effective in his second rodeo, some of these oh-so-scary changes may be necessary.
Because if Trump is really going to drain the swamp, finish securing the border, and bring this economy back to its former glory, he simply can’t be hamstrung government muck.
(And to be clear, this writer isn’t worried about any sort of dictatorial takeover like the left is because of a novel political concept called “checks and balances.”)
Look, if Trump were to get a grade on his first term, you have to give him an “I” for “incomplete.” Trump still has a lot of work left to do.
That’s why it’s so important to make sure he gets that second term, no matter how much the left wants to kick and scream and cry about it.
