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Opinion
The following is presented as part of The Columbian’s Opinion content, which offers a point of view in order to provoke thought and debate of civic issues. Opinions represent the viewpoint of the author. Unsigned editorials represent the consensus opinion of The Columbian’s editorial board, which operates independently of the news department.
We need to talk about what happens if Donald Trump wins.
We need to talk about it because there is a real chance that he could, especially if we don’t talk about it.
We’ve heard more than enough about how old Biden is and about how no one likes Kamala Harris.
And we’ve heard more than enough from the left wing of the Democratic Party, and from the kids, about everything Biden is supposedly doing wrong in dealing with Israel.
And I say “more than enough” — about age and about Harris and about Israel — because if there is anyone who thinks Trump is better on any of those scores, it is only because they aren’t really paying enough attention to what Donald Trump is up to.
For starters, when it comes to being old and dotty and plain out of control, just take a look at how Trump has been behaving in the courtroom in New York; to say he’s just plain losing it is the nicest way to put it.
In terms of who he’d pick to be his No. 2, try considering the recent choices he’s made for No. 3 — speaker of the House, that is, where Jim Jordan was his first choice and the no-less right-wing Mike Johnson his second. After those two, it’s hard to find anything wrong with Harris.
And as for Israel, what do these young leftist Democrats think of a president who is ready to ban all immigration from countries with a Muslim majority? Think he’s going to care more than Biden does about the Gazan children? Get real.
No, we need to talk more about what Trump will do as president, because if we don’t stop complaining about Biden, we’re going to up the chances of another go round with President Trump. And it’s already clear — or it should be — that the second time around will be tougher on our democracy than the first time, and we’ll have ourselves to blame for that.
How about making the Justice Department a branch of the White House and getting rid of the notion of any independence or higher calling for good?
Trump has been perfectly clear that even his Justice Department was too independent for his liking. The whole upper echelon was ready to quit if he had put his man in charge. This time, there would be nothing to block his plans; he’d get rid of them first by massive firings.
And how about immigration in a second Trump administration? Massive deportation programs? Ideological screening? How about finishing the wall, closing the border and building huge refugee camps? That’s what the Trump people are reportedly planning for.
Global warming, anyone? The planet may be running out of time, but in Trump-land, the problem is that there are too many environmentally minded people trying to actually protect the environment at the Environmental Protection Agency. In the next Trump term, they’ll be stripped of any power and authority even faster than the lawyers in the Justice Department.
It’s all part of the deep state that Trump and his bold thinkers are planning to dismember.
Trump has no respect for democratic institutions, which he has shown. He has no respect for checks and balances, for democratic elections, and very little even for the people who vote for him. According to him, his supporters wouldn’t care if he murdered someone on Fifth Avenue, which should certainly give the judge in his civil trial in New York some pause.
A normal person, much less one running for high office, might be humbled by the award of sanctions against him for verbally attacking the judge’s clerk, but Trump doesn’t break his stride. And why should a man who is leading in some polls after being indicted on 91 counts think he needs to break his stride?
The truth is, sadly, that we all are so used to Trump’s outrageous misbehavior that it doesn’t even shock his critics anymore, who are too busy wasting their and our time talking about Joe Biden being too old. We need to focus more on what Trump will do, because if we don’t, he’ll end up doing it.
