Tomorrow, what feels like the longest presidential campaign in recent history, will be over. At least, I hope it will be over. It is my sincere wish that we don’t have a repeat of the counting delays and controversies of the last presidential election. Hopefully, we will know a winner on election night, both sides will accept the result and we can move on from the dead end the country finds itself in.
It is precisely because I think the country must get out of the the dead end it is in that I have decided it would be better if Trump wins. No, I haven’t changed my mind about Trump. I got off the Trump Train in 2018 and never looked back. I certainly did not vote for him, or Kamala Harris. Both are equally unacceptable but for different reasons. I simply believe that if the country is going to move on, get out of the vicious cycle, dead end, whatever analogy, metaphor one wants to use, only a Trump victory will bring that about. Let me explain the five reasons that led me to my conclusion.
Reason #1
A Trump victory will undercut the narrative that Biden won in 2020 because of election fraud. Every effort, the last four years, to consider alternatives to Trump or the need to make changes, has been met with the reply that “Trump didn’t lose, Biden cheated!” The idea that every Democrat victory is the result of rigging and not the result of any failure on the part of Trump or the GOP is the biggest obstacle to any reform of the party. It has kept the party, and the country, stuck in a vortex of anger, recriminations and generally destructive behavior. I don’t expect that blaming “rigged” elections will ever completely go away among Republican partisans. It provides a safe place where they can stay angry at the Democrats without ever engaging in any serious reflection. However, a Trump win will make blaming election fraud less credible.
Reason #2
A Trump second term is the only way to remove him from the political stage. Yes, Trump has made some noise about this being his last rodeo irrespective of the result. But can anyone believe him? Even if he truly means it, Trump has an endless capacity to change his mind. Let’s face it, running for president has proven to be a highly profitable enterprise for Trump. Why would he give it up? He can keep of selling his NFTs, golden sneakers as long as he can hit the campaign trail. How many more millions can Trump rake in with a Stop the Steal II?
A Trump victory will also get Kamala Harris off the political stage – an awful candidate by all measures. Democrats soundly rejected Kamala in 2020. She was forced to drop out before the first contest was held. Somehow, her backers were able to get her on the presidential ticket. For three and half years, Kamala was kept hidden from the public. After Biden’s disastrous debate performance last June, Kamala was trotted out to defend him only to go back into hiding. Newsom and others had to step forward to defend Biden. That should have been the end of Kamala’s political career. Instead, her backers managed another miracle: giving her the Democratic presidential nomination without going through a primary. Only losing to Trump will free the Democrats of her and allow other talent to shine.
Reason #3
Liz Cheney embodies the element within the GOP that desperately wants Trump to lose. While openly campaigning against Trump, she is not open about her real motivation. She is not afraid that Trump will bring about the end of democracy or that he is dangerous. She, and her cohort, want Trump to lose so that they can take the GOP back to the George W. Bush policies. They already have their dream candidate raring to go, Nikki Haley. All they need is for Trump to lose. That is why Liz is working so hard.
A Trump victory will set up JD Vance as the frontrunner in 2028. He will inherit the Trump base and has already shown he has the political skills to build on it. I suspect that VP Vance will not be kept hidden, as Kamala was, but will play a large role in the administration. Vance is an opportunist. I have my doubts about his sincerity when it comes to policy. Nevertheless, he has taken positions that indicate he is the best bet when it comes to preventing the GOP from returning to the Bush years. When it comes to moving the GOP in a more populist direction, Vance is the best option.
Reason #4
A Trump victory will force the GOP to adopt a new foreign policy approach. Toss out the old cliché of “peace through strength” and acknowledge the new multipolar world before us. Trump has promised to end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours without providing, as usual, any details as to how he will accomplish it. However, it really doesn’t matter what Trump plans to do, if anything. Russia will reduce Ukraine to a rump state. There is nothing the USA can do to avoid said outcome. Israel awaits a similar fate. The Zionist project is coming to an end. The forces that were set in motion by the Israeli response to October 7th cannot be stopped by Trump or anyone.
When both Ukraine and Israel cease to exist in their current form, it will be preferable to have Trump in the White House for no other reason than no Republican will be able to blame it on “weakness”. If clueless Kamala is sitting in the Oval Office, claims of “weakness” will have credibility, especially among right leaning voters. But if tough talking, alpha male Trump is president, the claim will have no legs. Right leaning voters will have to acknowledge that the days of the American hegemon are coming to end and no amount of posturing, projecting “strength”, sanctions or bombing can change the new global power balance.
Reason #5
In recent years, talk of secession, national divorce has become more mainstream. At least, that is what public opinion polls indicate. Traditionally, a national divorce has been more popular among the Right than the Left. Sadly, the Right simply doesn’t have the institutional control needed to make it happen. They don’t have the mainstream media, academia or entertainment. They don’t have the levers required to move public opinion. The Left does.
If tomorrow Trump wins the electoral vote but loses the popular vote again, Democrats will demand an end to the electoral college. However, that will require amending the Constitution and the votes are simply not there and will never be there. Faced with the reality that the electoral college is here to stay, the Left will have no choice but to demand a national divorce. It is either a divorce or meekly accept living under fascism, the end of democracy. At the very least, it will be entertaining to watch the Left climb down from the rhetorical mountain they have built. That alone is worth wishing for a Trump win.
