So what is America's trajectory from here? What will it be like after Trump? Will there be an after Trump?

[Exellus]

I know no one really knows, but what is your own mental predictions about how things will be 2, 5, 10 years from now in the US?

GOP still in power? Trump free or in jail? Trump idolized by GOP or used as a scapegoat?

Will race tensions keep growing or go down?


Tell me a story about what you think will happen. Maybe reality will be boring. I'd honestly like that, for once.

 

[KtSlime]

10 years from now.
Still have concentration camps - yes
Trump in jail - no
Trump idolized - yes
Race tensions growing - yes

 

[Acorn]

The world is batshit, predicting anything these days seems even more like a fools game than it usually is.

 

[Spine Crawler]

2020 will decide that. it will be very close. i hope trump looses but you never know.

 

[Heromanz]

Both

 

[plié]

Trump will never leave office willingly.

 

[Fat4all]

i expect to be shitting fetid wine shits onto Trumps face by the end of 2030

 

[ps3ud0]

America starting World War 3 doesn't appear to be that stupid an idea anymore.

ps3ud0 8)

 

[Heromanz]

10 years from now.
Still have concentration camps - yes
Trump in jail - no
Trump idolized - yes
Race tensions growing - yes

Click to shrink...

Or the opposite can happen

 

[Tremorah]

10 years from now.
Still have concentration camps - yes
Trump in jail - no
Trump idolized - yes
Race tensions growing - yes

Click to shrink...

Yep, im having a hard time seeing where things are ever going to go to what they used to be after the big orange bastard getting away with what hes doing with his time and the party behind him just sitting on their hands

 

[KtSlime]

Or the opposite can happen

Click to shrink...

That's what makes it a guess. If you say anything can happen, that's not a guess. The opposite happening would be really good for the world, so I hope I am wrong.

 

[Deleted member 10551]

My precition for 2030

Concentration camps- no , but even Dems will be reluctant to have refugees in the country.
Trump in jail- no. He dies before he goes to any sort of trial. Trump's death is one of the nastiest days in American history, as there will be parties and celebration, which will lead to attacks on celebrators.
Trump idolized- yes, by a shrinking part of the population that is getting increasingly marginalized and violent
Race tensions growing- yes, but it will be clear who is losing the battle

 

[Mikebison]

Probably better just wishing for the old orange to just kick the bucket at this point.

 

[shnurgleton]

A Democrat will win in 2020. They will turn out to not be as progressive as they seemed, but they will still be pretty good. The rest of the world will breathe a sigh of relief. South Florida will experience record floods and there will be a massive surge of refugees crossing the Florida Georgia line when the state government and FEMA both massively botch the disaster response effort

 

[Deleted member 17990]

I feel like there will never be an after Trump at this rate.

 

[MasterYoshi]

Might elect a dem next go around, but I believe by 2024 or 2028 at latest, we're gonna have someone worse than Trump rise to power, who is actually eloquent with words and far more manipulative. I view Trump as just the beginning. Trump is exposing a broken system for people far smarter than him to exploit.

 

[jviggy43]

I dont see how things return to normal. Trump is the symptom not the cause, and he exposed just how prevalent this sickness is here. We have some serious issues ahead of ourselves. The problem is going to be whether we actually address it this time or become complacent living in a peaceful "normalacy" at the expense of ignoring these issues. Given our history it's likely to be the latter.

 

[19thCenturyFox]

Life after Trump?

How about 8 years of Donald, 8 years of Ivanka, 8 years of Kushner etc. until we run out of Trumps. Gotta keep the reality show going, America is having a hell of a time with a drunk person at the wheel.

For real though, I think the thing that will change the most is the importance of polls, debates and credentials for presidential candidates. It all doesn't matter anymore. The presidency is part of the entertainment industry now, approach it like a casting show. Also expect competent presidents to get kicked out of office after four years for being "boring".

 

[neon/drifter]

Trump will still be in the news cycle strongly for 6 years if he loses 2020. If he wins he'll be in the news cycle for ten or more years.

If he loses 2020 then racial tensions will flare up for about 2 years and depending on what happens during that time it'll get better or worse.

If he wins then racial tensions will continue their current trajectory. The concentration camps will become more abundant, ICE raids will become a part of our daily lives in about 3 years or so? You'll witness raids take place at your schools and jobs during business hours.

There will be an after Trump, but he will be regarded in the annals of history forever. He is the most polarizing president of all of US history. He is the worst president in all of US history.

His name mentioned in conversation will raise eyebrows for decades. Everyone will remember how these years felt for them.

 

[Lastbroadcast]

Speaking as an Australian - the election of Trump instantly shattered the illusion that America could mostly be relied on to provide a basic level of competence and stability in international relations.

If your country's social order and political system is so dysfunctional that someone like Trump can now win, that changes the equation for every American ally.

In Australia the transformation in the conversation was instantaneous. America has been the guarantor of our national security through the ANZUS alliance since the 1940s, but China is now our second biggest global trading partner. If their economy crashes than so does ours.

We expected some tension between those two competing interests - but we didn't expect the US political system to produce an American President who wants to deliberately sabotage China's economic growth through a stupid trade war. The result? Our economy is at its weakest in 25 years.

Every other major ally is having a similar conversation - especially in Europe with the Russia and NATO stuff. "Oh crap, America is off the reservation, we'd better come up with a Plan B".

Bottom line - you can't trust the American political system any more. That damage will be permanent.

 

[mORTEN]

Might elect a dem next go around, but I believe by 2024 or 2028 at latest, we're gonna have someone worse than Trump rise to power, who is actually eloquent with words and far more manipulative. I view Trump as just the beginning. Trump is exposing a broken system for people far smarter than him to exploit.

Click to shrink...

Full agree. And just think how many things he got away with - even normalized to the point that media no longer pays too much attention. Put a smarter bad guy in there, spice it up with the weapons industry, and we've got one hell of a party..

 

[Thorn]

Realistic Best Case scenario is we get Biden who will do nothing to punish Trump so the "nation can heal and unify again", pass wishy washy nothing bills that get blocked by the GOP that will grow more and more right wing and radical.

 

[Encephalon]

The next Republican president will be able to fully take advantage of the holes in the American political system Trump has exposed.

 

[Dyle]

It's all downhill from here baby. At best we can slow the bleeding, but there is no possible redemption arc within our lifetimes

 

[Zombegoast]

If Trump wins, nothing will change

If Biden wins as he works with the "Right", we'll be back where we left off 2017-2020

 

[Garlador]

The next Republican president will be able to fully take advantage of the holes in the American political system Trump has exposed.

Click to shrink...

That's my biggest takeaway.

Trump is awful. Truly, utterly heinous.

But he's also a blithering idiot who doesn't know how to get his biggest agendas done and has been kept in office by GOP lawmakers who used him as a means to sign any and all bills they put across his desk and stack the Supreme Court. He's a useful idiot but if he had any real competence, things would be MUCH worse right now.

... But that's what terrifies me. Somewhere out there is a competent Republican just as cruel, petty, and racist as Trump, but with actual knowledge of policy and political savvy. Put them in office and we won't just get superficial harm; it would be a complete erosion of the progress we've worked so hard for over the prior decades.

Which is why it's more important than ever to stand up to this brand of bigotry, intolerance, and cruelty now.

 

[ArkhamFantasy]

American politics are a pendulum, it will swing back left, then swing back right again.

 

[Biske]

America is deeply fucked.

Trump isnt the cause of our country being a shithole, hes the logical next step in decades of purposely making our country an idiot racist shithole.

It doesn't stop when he's gone. Hell a large portion of the country proudly supports other countries manipulating us.

US is fucked, and that's even before you get to the issues of not dealing at all with climate change, automation and extreme income inequality, healthcare etc.

 

[onadesertedisland]

The underlying problem will get worse. We ignored it too long. Not sure what to do or how to fix it.

 

[Apathy]

Unfortunately, I don't at the racists going back into hiding once Trump is gone, at least not for a while. He'll be the new Reagan to them and you'll have a new wave of openly racists politicians trying to get into government, those that are trumpists

 

[Rygar1126]

That dipshit with the eyepatch will probably be president at some point. Thanks SNL

 

[Nephtes]

Trump wins 2020 due to Democrats campaigning too far to the left for most of the country.
Trump is then quickly impeached by the House.
Trump starts war with Iran.
GOP controlled Senate narrowly votes to impeach with 2 votes to spare.
Legal battle ensues .... Hilarious news coverage occurs.

President Pence finishes out the rest of the term with less domestic bombshells, as Iran becomes the new Iraq war. An ISIS like terrorist organization destabilizes athe middle East further as Saudi Arabia becomes the undisputed power in the region.

Trump dies from heart attack waiting for various state trials.

His state funeral becomes a war zone between Antifa and Neo-nazis while sane people (traditional Democrats and Republicans) correctly stay home with popcorn and watch on TV.

 

[Ensorcell]

Trump will never leave office willingly.

Click to shrink...

If he loses, yes he will. He's not as tough as he pretends to be.

 

[KtSlime]

If he loses, yes he will. He's not as tough as he pretends to be.

Click to shrink...

You don't think he would claim Fake News, demand a recount, escalate to the Supreme Court, and request for some votes to not count because they were in areas with large populations of immigrants? Because that is completely how I see him acting.

 

[Alligatorjandro]

America will never be the same

 

[PositivePolitique]

Increased conflict in the middle east
More cosy with arms industry and dictatorships
More wars
More refugees to Europe
Repeat

 

[Ensorcell]

You don't think he would claim Fake News, demand a recount, escalate to the Supreme Court, and request for some votes to not count because they were in areas with large populations of immigrants? Because that is completely how I see him acting.

Click to shrink...

Throwing a tantrum about losing and actually putting up and shutting up are two different things. He'll back down in the end, don't make him more invincible than he is. After all the bluster, he is ultimately very cowardly.

 

[derder]

I think the key variable is mass migration due to climate change.

It's possible that we'll have Dems implementing a southern border wall.

 

[Ichthyosaurus]

Trump will pick either fight or flight, and hard, varying on whether he thinks he's in the advantageous position. The crucial factor will be in who supports him and what lengths they'll go to do it. If its just him his protests will be all bluster and he'll be carted out of the Whole House by the Secret Service, if elements in the US government and/or right wing supremacist terrorist groups get active then it's time to start moving to Canada ASAP.

 

[teruterubozu]

The bar for the Oval Office has sunk really low. I think the damage will stretch generations.

 

[acheron_xl]

The country will continue to dissolve until there's not a country anymore. Climate disaster will make a comeback impossible.

 

[thewienke]

Another solid recession and voters will clamor for someone more stable and anyone that can put more money in their pockets.

The same country that produced Trump also ignited the wave that elected Obama in 2008 when people were broke.

I foresee America putting the racial issues sparked by Trump on pause (again) until the next recession is solved. But in that environment the border camps will continue and admitted refugees will be decreased because it won't be a priority in the average voters minds.

 

[Mcfrank]

Trump wins 2020 due to Democrats campaigning too far to the left for most of the country.
Trump is then quickly impeached by the House.
Trump starts war with Iran.
GOP controlled Senate narrowly votes to impeach with 2 votes to spare.
Legal battle ensues .... Hilarious news coverage occurs.

President Pence finishes out the rest of the term with less domestic bombshells, as Iran becomes the new Iraq war. An ISIS like terrorist organization destabilizes athe middle East further as Saudi Arabia becomes the undisputed power in the region.

Trump dies from heart attack waiting for various state trials.

His state funeral becomes a war zone between Antifa and Neo-nazis while sane people (traditional Democrats and Republicans) correctly stay home with popcorn and watch on TV.

Click to shrink...

Seems to me a pretty unlikely scenario that trump wins but Dems keep the house. For trump to win many of those districts we flipped in 2018 would need to swing back which means the Dems holding them would also lose. All the rest seems spot on though!

 

[AppleBlade]

I am weary of "this is different" type arguments but it is difficult to minimize Trump's impact as if it never happened. At the very least, the norms he broke gives license for everyone else to do the same (i.e. attacking the media and restricting access, nepotism, financial interests tied to the office, etc.). It exposed that many of the strengths of America's democratic system were rooted on values and norms instead of explicitly written rules and he broke many of them.

The license he gave for people to use "racist" and "xenophobic" language is not going to disappear for some time.

 

[Xando]

They'll elect a centre right democrat next and another fascist after that.


Democrats are so far up their asses they won't implement the desperately needed checks on a president when they're in power and everything will be way worse when the next GOP president isn't only a fascist idiot but a smart fascist.

 

[El-Suave]

I'm not American but I really look forward to the day this nightmare is over. The veil of stupidity and incompetence that is enveloping the world right now being lifted (somewhat) should be great. It's so frustrating that the US is too big to ignore the orange idiot or to force other governments to play nice.

Of course the outlook for the world as a whole won't improve that much but the White House is so enormously annoying at the moment that almost any change will be a relief.

 

[Pilgrimzero]

Dems will "fix" a lot of what Trump did. Nothing of any real substance (like healthcare) will get passed because the Repubs will never let it happen.

Over all, things will go back to almost what it was like before Trump (some things just can't be fixed) but our reputation is forever shittier.

 

[Scuffed]

Trump is a unique cult of personality type. These are almost impossible to emulate so I don't see another Republican being as effective with a similar message. Trumpism will eventually die off. There will still be hate, that will never go away no matter who is in charge but his brand of it will die off.

 

[darkwing]

5-4 for a lifetime

 

[zero_suit]

They'll elect a centre right democrat next and another fascist after that.


Democrats are so far up their asses they won't implement the desperately needed checks on a president when they're in power and everything will be way worse when the next GOP president isn't only a fascist idiot but a smart fascist.

Click to shrink...

This is my greatest fear. My fellow citizens are so fucking stupid. I knew this after Bush got a second term, but the rise of the Tea Party and Donald Trump further confirmed my feelings.