The John F. Kennedy presidency is remembered fondly as an American Camelot. Camelot refers to the idyllic reign of the mythical King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Despite revelations after Kennedy’s death that he was a tarnished hero who indulged in numerous adulterous relationships with Hollywood starlets, Mafia princesses, and young White House staffers, the image of Camelot prevails to this day.
In stark contrast the Donald Trump presidency is remembered in horror as a Third Reich aberration. Americans forget just how horrible the Trump presidency was: daily tweets from the pit of hell, unholy alliances with white evangelicals and white supremacists, weaponization of the FBI and the DOJ against his political enemies, attacks on the press, disdain for the rule of law, mismanagement of the fight against COVID, the embrace of dictators, and the constant assault on immigrants, women, people of color and the LGBT community.
But as godawful terrible as the Trump administration was it will be Camelot compared to a second Trump administration. If you think Trump was off-the-rails in his first term in office, he will be unrestrained, unaccountable and uncontrollable if God forbid, he becomes president again.
Trump has already declared “I am your retribution” and he has already promised to reign in the FBI, the DOJ and any government institution that poses a threat to his presidential powers. Make no mistake about it, if Trump is returned to power, he will be a dictator, a vengeful dictator.
When Trump was elected president in 2016 the Republican establishment was against him, but this time Trump is the Republican establishment, the GOP is MAGA through and through. Trump was a political novice in 2016 and that restricted his ability to get things done, but now he has enough political experience to execute his nefarious agenda.
If Trump wins in 2024 it will be an existential threat to our democracy, it is incumbent upon lovers of democracy to do anything within our power to prevent him from returning to power.