What If Trump Dies Tomorrow?
I'm giving neither a prediction nor a hope, but this is an issue we do well to contemplate
A President of the United States has not died in office since 1963. A frequent and legitimate criticism of Joe Biden was that he was too old to run for re-election. It would have been equally legitimate to say that Trump was too old to run for re-election.
Trump will turn 79 years old next June. His detailed medical condition is a mystery because he has always refused to release it. One could be forgiven for wondering if he and his team have been hiding something. Sure, he says he has health so amazing it would set world records, his physical prowess astounding physicians, but Trump’s claims can be easily filed amongst his other Baron Munchausenian fantastical declarations.
I’m not convinced that Donny is in such great health, but regardless, the mortality rate of 78-year-olds is notably higher than zero. His steady intake of Diet Coke and fast food isn’t improving his odds.
An aside: I found this article interesting.
I've spent a day eating like every living US president. The best diets have surprised me.
I ranked the diets of every living president. Here's what it's like eating like Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Barack Obama…www.businessinsider.com
Let’s Speak of That Which No One Dares to Speak
Let’s face it, Trump could “pop his clogs” (a quaint British idiom) any day. If (when) that happens, what will then happen? It’s worth contemplating because, to use another good idiom, those who fail to plan, plan to fail. Just look at Joe Biden, which is why we’re in this current mess. Eschewing platitudes and cliches, let’s look at what would happen.
No Constitutional Crisis. It has been over 60 years since it was last needed, but the law of the land as set down in the US Constitution is pretty clear on the rules of succession. As soon as they can wake up JD Vance, he becomes president. Granted, this lot aren’t loyal followers of the rule of law or the US Constitution, but this would serve their purposes. There’s a reason the powers that be picked Vance for Veep — he’s a good loyal lapdog and easier to control than Trump.
No Changes in Policy. I’ll speak another fact that few dare to speak: Trump isn’t in charge, not really. Last year, one of the realities I wrote about in my book Why Trump? is that Trump is best understood as the current figurehead of a much older, larger, and more powerful right-wing movement. One highly influential force within that movement is the Heritage Foundation, created in 1973. That right-wing think tank is behind Project 2025. During the presidential campaign, not enough was said about Project 2025 and its agenda. I say “not enough” in that it should have been THE main topic of the election. But the right-wing über-rich threw enough money around that the media, and thus everyone, talked about other things. This election wasn’t really about Trump (which is what the Democrats got wrong), it was about the corporatist agenda of Project 2025. We are one week after the inauguration and every action the new regime has taken was dictated by Project 2025's manifesto. That is, everything except Trump’s inane blatherings about Greenland, which are most likely designed to be a distraction from the actual agenda. Don’t look at the men behind the curtain. Rest assured; with Trump gone, President Vance would step in to serve as the next figurehead to sign off on Project 2025's agenda. The powers that be might even consider Vance to be an upgrade over Trump.
Not Many Changes in MAGA. Another reality I wrote about in my book Why Trump? is that Trump is a symptom far more than he is a cause. For example, Trump didn’t create “Make American Great Again” — Reagan was a previous politician to use that old slogan. To quote the book: “[MAGA is] a right-wing movement that centers itself on Trump, but this movement isn’t about Trump. He is a focal point, but there is much more going on here. Casting the movement as being led by Trump mischaracterizes not only the movement but also the nature of American culture and politics.” (Why Trump? page 3) This movement called “MAGA” is the current manifestation of a particular strain of US political culture that is nearly as old as the country itself. Reactionary hatreds of minorities, immigrants, and so on predate Trump and MAGA by many decades. With Trump gone, the reactionaries will need a new focal point, but a new one will emerge, just as new ones did after Charles Coughlin, Joseph McCarthy, James Eastland, Lyndon LaRouche, and so on left the stage. Reactionism will survive in America as it always has, continuing to make America less great. No Trump needed.
The Conspiracy Theory Industry Will Have a New Mission. Even if Trump is struck by a meteorite live on TV, the right-wing con(spiracy) artists will immediately try to blame it on a Leftist conspiracy to murder Trump. It’s what they do. It’s part and parcel of reactionism to see the world as full of conspiracies against them and their beliefs. Trump’s demise would spark even greater conspiracy theories about the fictitious “deep state,” and someone will start blathering about how undocumented immigrants, ANTIFA, drag queens, feminists, and professors who teach critical race theory all conspired with Nancy Pelosi to murder Trump and destroy America. I’m not trying to be funny.
American Nationalism Will Have a New Demigod. In Why Trump? I also give a basic history of the US’s civil religion that is best labeled “American nationalism.” In brief, American nationalism is a form of identity politics, asserting that its version of American identity is morally superior and deserving of greater power in society and government. Powered by the myth of American exceptionalism, this quasi-religious movement gives legitimacy to both the pro-business conservative and anti-minority reactionary trajectories of the right wing in the US. This movement is not “Christian” nationalism, despite its use of the White Jesus. This movement worships the concept of America as superior to all other nations. It has its mythic narratives, its symbolic idols, and its prophets. Trump, especially a dead Trump no longer babbling incoherently, will fit well into American nationalism’s pantheon of demigods. He will be bigger than Jesus. No doubt, someone will petition the Vatican to declare Trump a saint. His miracle? Getting right-wing Christians to believe an atheist is one of them.
The media and the Democrats will try to pretend that Trump’s demise will change everything. They don’t understand what Trump is and isn’t, and they’ve forgotten America’s history. To be honest, aside from a shift in the hagiography of the cult of Trump, a new strain of conspiracy theories, and a new excuse for right-wingers to justify violence and oppression, little will change if Trump dies tomorrow. That’s because it is not about Trump. It was never about Trump.
We need to change the conversation to address what’s really going on.
The New Project 2025-Trump Regime Means My Books Are More Relevant Than Ever
-
I know this is an old post, but I’m compelled to respond—better late than never: Firstly, “Baron Munchausenian fantastical declarations” is great, and I’m stealing it! Secondly, while much off what you say is absolutely true, no one who follows Trump will haved whatever sick charm, charisma, cunning that holds his shiny-eyed devotees. It’s a cult, he’s the cult leader, and though it’s completely lost on me, he has a base magnetism that will die with him. Along with his salesmanship. No WAY Vance (have you seen him in public interactions??)!or any other MAGA Republican will be able to hold sway the same way. It will not end, but it will change dramatically and weaken. Hope it won’t be too late.
“…someone will start blathering about how undocumented immigrants, ANTIFA, drag queens, feminists, and professors who teach critical race theory all conspired with Nancy Pelosi to murder Trump and destroy America. I’m not trying to be funny.”
And yet you are.