this post was submitted on 03 Nov 2024
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There's no cult of personality like Trump and there will likely never be another one like him.
That's wishful thinking. We only had the 80 years without fascism that we did, is because the Nazi regime was so thoroughly defeated. If Trump loses, it'll be by the skin of our collective teeth, and his poison will take a generation to cleanse. And that's if we are lucky and they don't take power at any point between now and then.
I'm not sure who would rise up to the level of his TV personality right now. I'm sure there are people who will try to emulate him like Desantis tries to. There will be blustery conservatives but they're much more like dickhead middle management than someone who will rally the unwashed masses. Republicans will have to lean harder on "the liberal agenda" as a bogeyman rather than having a candidate who pisses off the opposition so badly. However, They will be able to go back to reliable apathy from the left once he's gone.
we won't know what charismatic leaders are available to fill the vacuum when he's gone, until he's gone. smart face eating leopards don't put a target in your back when the host of the leopards eating faces party is a decade at most away from expiring. especially not when he could still win tomorrow. they wait for the odds of success to improve. the klan hasn't made it this far or survived this long by accident.
Trump become more famous at the end of the broadcast TV era. Millions of people watched the apprentice on a weekly basis. There's nobody with that amount of reach anymore.
i truely hope you end up being right. nothing would make me happier than having the american conservative movement fumbling for few election cycles. one of his kids trying to take control of the republican party without his cult following would be a welcome respite. but this cycle will keep repeating. until we deal with the underlying cultural issues that had half our neighbors lacking the empathy to put on a fucking cloth mask just incase it could help even one extra person survive. but they* went around coughing on people and laughing about it instead.
Their second best is JD Vance.
If a tremendously uncharismatic turd like him can do it, lots of people can.
What's working in our favor is his shittiest supporters are all in on him specifically, and won't jump on the next bandwagon because it isn't him. They gave him the God slot in their brains and it isn't up for grabs by anybody else, but not because lots of others can't do it.